Dreams and Nightmares
by Deathplight
Summary: Based on Suikoden III. It has been a year since the war that took place between Zexen, Grassland, and Harmonia. What interesting occurances may happen when Hugo has to deliver a message to the Zexen Council. Hugo/Chris. Second Author Note Up.
1. Unmanagable Curiosity

Disclaimer:  I do not own Suikoden so please don't sue me.  You wouldn't get any money anyways.

Notes:  Well here I go again.  Writing a story that will, like nearly all of mine, probably never reach you're eyes.  As it says in the summary this takes place about a year after the events of Suikoden III.  I'll be writing this as though Hugo were Flame Champion as this clearly was what the game intended.  Oh, and when I mention 'the masked bishop', I use that term because I know that there are some people that haven't gotten that far in the game and still read fanfiction.  Myself, being one of those kinds of people.  With that said, let the story begin.

Dreams and Nightmares 

**Chapter I**

**Unmanagable Curiosity**

**By:  Luke 'Deathplight'**

Life in the Karaya Clan had become incredibly boring after the events that took place with the five elemental True Runes.  Hugo wasn't complaining that he wanted innocent lives to be destroyed once again, of course, but he was becoming incredibly restless lately.  He had lessons every day about becoming a clan chief.  He should have been chief already, in truth.  He was of age according to Karayan standards and Lucia was ready to give up her title to Hugo.  Hugo, however, had refused the title as of yet.  With the commotion of rebuilding that village and everything else that was happening, including the current situation with Zexen, everything had become incredibly hectic.  Hugo had refused that title of Clan Chief because he doubted he could handle all of that until things calmed down a little.  Now that the town had been completely rebuilt, Karaya and the rest of the Grassland clans were attempting a treaty with Zexen that the arrogant council members did not want to pass.  They of course new that if they did not pass it, it could lead to another power struggle between the two countries.  This of course had very little to do with Hugo until he finally accepted the title that should technically already have been his.  Right now he was just looking for things to do, and it hadn't helped that Sergeant had moved back to Duck Village.

         Hugo was currently heading over to the stables after just recently leaving from a training session with his mother about filling the role of chief.  It was mostly settling disputes within the clan and learning about annoying political issues.

         As Hugo walked through the beaten paths of the town, he couldn't believe how much bigger it was from the original.  There were several more buildings and there were plenty of shops that would never have been found in Karaya previously.  The largest building was the meeting hall.  It was actually not really all that big, but there were few people that ever used it.  It was mostly for meetings about decisions that had to be made in the town.  While Hugo would have rather not been present, his mother forced him.  It would also not have been very becoming for the future chief to not be informed with what was happening in the village.  Fortunately, the meetings were very few in number.

         Upon reaching the stables Hugo walked over to Fubar, who responded with a soft, "Kueee…"

         "Hey Fubar.  How's it going?" Hugo questioned the griffon as he stroked the feathers on Fubar's neck.  "Wanna go out for a ride."

         Fubar answered with a much louder and more excited sounding "kueee!"  Hugo smiled and open took the griffon outside.  Hugo never locked up Fubar in the stables.  To Fubar, the stables were more like a place to lie down and rest.  He could enter and leave as freely as he pleased, but he spent most of his time there because Hugo was usually busy doing something equally as boring.

         Hugo mounted on Fubar and walked toward the exit to the village.  He had already let his mother know that he was going to go for a ride.  It seemed like it was his only escape nowadays.  Once the left the village, Fubar quickly picked up speed.  Mostly Hugo's riding was just aimlessly wandering the plains.  Now he was currently just listening and feeling the presence of the spirits.  It was always very soothing and Hugo wondered why so few humans outside of the clan ever listened to them.

         "Hey Fubar, do you want to go visit Sergeant."

         "Kueee…" was Fubar's response.

         "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

         The two galloped along the path of the plains that headed to duck village.  Hugo wondered how happy Sergeant was now that he had remarried.  The way things were turning out it looked like Hugo would never know what it was like to be married.  He was immortal and would probably never know what true happiness was like.  Hugo sighed.  He wanted to be happy and get married some day even with the fact of the True Fire Rune in his right hand.  Seeing Geddoe was enough to make Hugo want to find a way to be happy.  Geddoe just always seemed so sad.  It was really kind of eerie.  He hadn't seen Geddoe or Chris since the whole ordeal with the masked bishop.

         Hugo had set out early in the morning on his way to visit Sergeant.  It was about an hour before noon when the village came into sight.

         Fubar let out a "kueee!" and took off even faster towards the village.  Hugo smiled and chuckled slightly.  Silently Hugo wondered if Sergeant would even be happy to see them.

         Hugo dismounted off Fubar once they finally entered the village.  It appeared that this village had been expanded as well.  Hugo passed the shops in the front of the village and walked through the inn to the residential part of the town.  There was a soothing gentle breeze in the village today.  It also had a fresh scent that would never be found in any of the Zexen establishments.  The Grasslands, in Hugo's opinion, were much better.

         Hugo walked to the building that he knew was occupied by Sergeant and his wife.  He knocked on the wooden door and waited for a reply from the other side.  The door slowly opened to reveal Sergeant's wife.

         "Oh hello Hugo, looking for Sergeant?" questioned Sergeant's wife.

         "Yes actually.  Me and Fubar just came down to say high."

         Sergeant's wife called to him and Sergeant came down a short time later.

         "Hello Hugo, Fubar," said Sergeant.

         "Hey Sergeant.  How's married life going?"

         "Oh, pretty good.  We have our fights once and a while but nothing too serious.  You wanna come in?"

         "Sure."

         Fubar and Hugo entered the building and Sergeant motioned Hugo to sit on the wooden sofa.  Hugo complied with this.  It was slightly uncomfortable but Hugo didn't mind.  Fubar just stood around and let out a 'kueee…' every once and a while.  Hugo and Sergeant talked for a while about what had been happening lately.  Once noon approached Sergeant questioned as to whether they would like lunch.  Hugo agreed, but Fubar decided to go out hunting.

         Unlike the Karayan diet, which consisted mostly of meat, the Duck Clan was mostly a vegetarian group.  Hugo was all right with this although he did find the food to be slightly bland as there were no spices and herbs that could be added to vegetables properly.  After Hugo had eaten and Fubar had returned from hunting, they decided to head back to Karaya Village.  They said their goodbyes to Sergeant and his wife and headed back home towards Karaya village.

         The rest of the rest of the day had been mostly uneventful.  Hugo and Fubar had enjoyed the rest of their ride home, and once they had returned it was just about time for dinner.  After eating and some more training as well as physical exercise, Hugo finally turned in for the rest of the night.

*~~~*

         Hugo dreamt during the night, but he couldn't remember what it was about.  All he knew was that it made him miss his friends from Budehuc Castle.  Hugo walked outside of the little hut after changing and found that, as usual, it was still dark outside.  He always woke before sunrise.  He walked out of the hut after strapping his curved dagger to the back of his belt and the knife to his side.  Hugo still used the same knife, but now had a larger dagger on his back.  He had actually grown in spite of the fact of the True Rune that he bore.  It was probably due to his ability to hear the spirits, which included fire.  Hugo supposed that he had cooperated with the Rune enough that it listened to his wishes.  He was about six inches taller than he was the year before, and his build was now more muscular.

         Hugo was headed to his mother's hut now to start his training for the day.  He entered the hut and spoke to his mother.

         "I'm here for my lessons," he declared.

         "I've decided to cancel them for today.  I need you to deliver a message to the Zexen council.  I want to know what is taking the treaty so long.  It's been six months since it has been set."

         "Um… alright.  Though… I was wondering if I might be able to take a sort of vacation while I'm delivering the message."

         "What do you mean?"

         "I don't know.  Spending some time away from the village and visit my friends."

         "Okay," came Lucia's response.

         "Really?" questioned Hugo rather skeptically.  "What's the catch?"

         "By the end of the month you will take over as village chief."

         Hugo sighed.  "How much time do I get off then?"

         "A week?"

         "Are you kidding?  It'll take me a week just for them to take the message.  How about two."

         "Alright then.  You'll be gone for two weeks and by the end of the month you'll take over as Clan Chief."

         Hugo sighed.  He did not want to become the Clan Chief just yet but he might as well get it over with now that he was getting something useful out of the deal as well.

         "Okay, I guess I can live with that," Hugo responded.  "I'll see you in two weeks."

         Lucia hugged her son, and Hugo returned it.

         "Goodbye," said Lucia.  She handed him the letter and Hugo pocketed it.

         Hugo packed his things and took out Fubar.  They exited and headed to Brass Castle.  They would have to pass through there first and probably spend the night also.  It was a rather long journey, but Hugo decided not to rush it by having Fubar fly.  It would be good to travel on the ground.

*~~~*

         Chris and the rest of the Great Knights of Zexen, accompanied by Louis, were currently headed towards the cafeteria of the Brass Castle.  Chris usually ate in her room at the castle with Louis.  They had just returned from patrolling the borders and Chris refused to allow Louis to cook, no matter how much he insisted.  Chris felt kind of sorry for Louis.  He did not want to become a knight, but it was her duty to see him transformed into one.  He would get used to it eventually.

         Once the seven had entered the cafeteria the line immediately seemed to get shorter.  They got their food quickly and headed to an open table.  People began to gather around them looking for excuses.  All of the open seats near them also filled up quickly.  It seemed as if they had just beaten the rush, because shortly after they entered, several other people did as well.  They all seemed to look for excuses to form clusters around the knights and make idle conversation.  The knights had learned to ignore this.

         Chris had been granted a week's leave and would have the entire week to herself if trouble did not arise.  While she loved being a knight, it was nice to get a break once and a while, even if it was short.  Neither her nor anybody else in the room seemed to notice a certain two-tone haired Karayan enter the cafeteria.

*~~~*

It was near dinnertime by the time that Hugo and Fubar had reached the Brass Castle.  Hugo did not like this place much but it was much easier to deal with than Vinay because of how alive the spirits seemed to be at Brass Castle.  It was very gloomy in Vinay.  Hugo had to drop off Fubar in the stables.  He knew that Fubar would be locked up and hoped that he would be okay.  When questioned by the stable boy what he ate, Hugo just told the boy to let out Fubar once he was hungry.  He would be able to find food on his own.

         Hugo walked through the castle checking the shops to see if there was anything interesting.  Hugo had a good amount of funds ever since a year ago.  While he had spent some of it over the course of the year, he had never had a reason to buy armor or much medicine and the blacksmith at the village sharpened his dagger for free.  He seemed to have more money than he knew what to deal with.  He did not find anything of interest and set his new goal on heading to the cafeteria.  He was very hungry and had not eaten anything all day.  He would then have to get a room to spend the night.

         The cafeteria was very busy currently.  Because of the time it seemed that everybody had come to eat.  It would be a long wait but Hugo was okay with it.  It wasn't as if he had anything to do anyways.

         The room was filled with the aroma of food.  It only served to make Hugo even hungrier, but he had gone for several days without eating before.  There was one table that seemed to be surrounded by people.  Hugo immediately saw the cause of this.  The Six Knights of Zexen were currently occupying that table.  People were gathered around it, but the knights seemed to ignore them for the first part and just continued eating.

         Hugo picked up a plate and headed to where the food was.  The line was quite long, but he just opted to wait instead of waiting for the line to die down.  Fortunately nobody had recognized him as the Flame Champion yet.  It was incredibly annoying the way that people seemed to idolize him and they didn't even know the first thing about him.  Fortunately this didn't come up much in Zexen because the minute they saw him they simply passed him off as a 'barbarian'.

         After finally getting through the line Hugo looked at all of the food.  He didn't recognize any of it and chose to take a little bit of everything.  Hugo did not find an open seat and just stood around like many other people waiting for one to clear.  Brass Castle was really starting to get on Hugo's nerves now.  He sighed and waited for a seat to open.  Amazingly enough somebody left their seat that happened to be right next to the Six Knights.  Hugo just shrugged and sat down.  He ended up sitting next to a person who was sitting next to Leo.

         "Hey, that kid looks familiar," commented Borus who was sitting across from Leo and next to Chris.  Chris turned to see whom Borus was looking, and her eyes opening slightly wider.

         "Hugo?" questioned Chris aloud.  Hugo turned his head towards the person who spoke his name.

         "Hey Chris.  How's it going?" Hugo asked.

         "Fine, and yourself?"

         "Pretty good," replied Hugo.

         "Hey wait.  You're the Flame Champion," stated Borus.  Everybody that heard this turned to look directly at Hugo.  An awkward silence took place afterwards.  This was becoming incredibly uncomfortable.

         "Well… It looks like I'm finished," commented Hugo breaking the silence.  "We should catch up sometime, Chris."  With that Hugo stood up and was about to walk out of the cafeteria.

         "You got taller," said Chris after seeing him stand up.  "How?"

         "I dunno.  I guess the True Rune let me age a bit."  With that Hugo took his plate, tossed it into a bin, and began to head out of the cafeteria.  As he was leaving he caught Chris' eye and gave her one of his signature smiles, which she returned.  That was the end of an incredibly odd situation.

         *~~~*

         Hugo aimlessly wandered around the Brass Castle.  After a while he found the training room and found many knights sparring with wooden swords.  None of them seemed particularly good.  Hugo never could quite understand how anybody could possibly fight with the Zexen fighting style.  It was slow and in Hugo's eyes it lacked all basic fundamentals.  He supposed that the Zexens must have found a way to make it worked.  They had used it for so long.

         After seeing enough he headed out of the room.  He opened the door to find Chris, clad in knight's armor, on the other side.

         Hugo smiled.  "Hello Chris.  I wanted to talk to you."

         Chris returned the smile.  "It's nice to see you again Hugo.  Yes we really should talk, but perhaps this is not the best place.  Let's talk in my room."

         Hugo nodded and followed shortly behind her.  After walking a ways the two of them seemed to be attracting a rather large crowd.

         "You'd think they've never seen a Zexen talking to a Karayan," commented Hugo.  Then he chuckled.  "Come to think of it, they probably haven't."

         "They always stare.  Just try to ignore them."

         "All right."  The two entered the room to find Louis there.

         "Hello, Lady Chris.  Would you care for some tea?"

         "No thank you Louis.  Would you like any Hugo?"

         Hugo, having no idea what tea was, politely declined.  Chris motioned for Hugo to sit down on the sofa while she sat down in a cushioned chair.  Louis just kind of stood around.

         "So how have you been, Hugo?" questioned Chris.

         "Pretty good, how about you?  Anything interesting happening lately?"

         "Oh nothing really.  Just the usual border conflicts.  Have you become Clan Chief yet?"

         "No, but that was actually part of the reason I'm here.  I'm on my way to Vinay to deliver a message to the council from my mother.  She gave me two weeks off if I agreed to become the Clan Chief by the end of the month.  I must say I'm not really looking forward to it, but I have really been putting it off for too long anyways."

         Chris smiled at this.  "I think you'll make a good chief.  By they way, I wanted to ask you something.  Could you please explain to me how you could have aged?  You are definitely much taller."

         "I honestly have no idea.  I think the rune understood that I was not happy about being so short and it allowed me to age another year.  I'm not complaining, however."

         "How are things going in the village?"

         "Pretty well, actually.  We have finally finished rebuilding it.  It is larger than it was before.  It still reminds me of Lulu though…" and he trailed off.

         "I truly am sorry," said Chris sadly and Hugo could tell that she meant it.

         "It wasn't your fault.  Lulu knew what he was getting into.  It still hurts… but I no longer care about vengeance."

         Chris sighed, and Hugo found himself staring into Chris' lavender eyes.

         After a moment of this Chris questioned, "What is it?"

         "You have beautiful eyes…"

         "Um… thank you."

         Hugo shook his head and regained sense of himself.  "Sorry I kind of spaced out there for a minute."

         There was an awkward silence afterwards when Louis spoke, "Lady Chris, Sir Borus is here to see you."

         "What? Oh, okay," replied Chris after spacing out herself for a minute.

         "Lady Chris, some of the knights and I are down in the training center.  Would you care to join us?" asked Borus.

         "Of course.  Would you like to come Hugo?" said Chris turning to Hugo.

         "Um… all right, but I think I'll just watch.  It would be nice to see the Zexen style used with people that can use it properly.  I was down there earlier and most of them looked pretty bad."

         Chris chuckled a little at this.  Chris, Hugo, and Borus left the room and headed down to the training center.  Louis opted to stay behind.  Borus did not seem very happy about the fact that Hugo was coming along also.

         They reached the training center and the knights sparred while Hugo watched.  The knights definitely did the Zexen fighting style much more justice than the soldiers he had seen earlier.  Chris was especially good.  She defeated all of the men that she sparred.  Hugo decided to try his own luck.  He looked through the pile of wooden swords and found a decent sized one.  It was a little longer than his dagger but it would do fine.  Hugo waited for Chris' current spar to end before challenging her.  It didn't take very long.

         "Would you care for a duel, Chris?" asked Hugo with a big grin on his face.

         Chris returned the smile and said, "Certainly."

         The others in the area cleared out as they both took their offensive stances.  Hugo was the first to strike.  He moved with blinding speed towards Chris.  He made a horizontal slash that Chris barely managed to block as she was caught off guard.  Hugo quickly followed it up with a jab with the dagger the Chris backed away from and countered.  It was a vertical slash that Hugo sidestepped and made his own counter.  Chris parried his slash.  It continued with parrying, countering, and dodging for a while as the two began to discover how each other's fighting techniques worked.  Hugo's was very odd to place.  Chris wondered where he could have learned it.  Chris made a lunge with her sword forcing Hugo to step back.  She followed it through with a horizontal slash the Hugo parried and countered.  Chris dodged this attack and made a combination of a lunge and slash that caught Hugo off guard and forced him to roll backwards.  He was apparently attacking only her weak spots and was moving very quickly.  Chris was becoming tired and it was becoming more and more difficult to block his strikes.  The teen's stamina, however, seemed to be infinite.  She thought about using the True Water Rune to heal her weariness, but in her own mind that would be cheating as Hugo seemed to be doing fine without healing himself.

         It appeared that in the mean time, all of the other spars had stopped.  There was now a large group of people gathered around the two that were greatly interested in the duel.  Chris and Hugo, however, didn't even notice them.

         "Where did you learn to fight?" questioned Chris trying to by some time for her body to recover.

         "I learned how to move from Fubar.  Jimba taught me how to use a weapon."

         "My father…"

         Hugo nodded, and quickly charged forward with another strike.  Chris, who had been thinking of her father, barely dodged his strike.  Hugo then changed his grip on the weapon, and his fighting style changed drastically.  He was attempting to mimic the Zexen fighting style.  After a while though, Chris realized that it was a combination of the Zexen style and his own style.  Hugo could not copy the Zexen style properly since he was not armored.  Then something incredibly odd happened.  Hugo slashed downward diagonally.  As Chris blocked the attack Hugo slipped because of the bad traction on his sandals along with the accompaniment of the hard floor and fell straight to the ground.  Chris lost her grip on the wooden sword, and it fell on top of Hugo.  Luckily for Hugo, the flat side landed on his chest.  Unluckily for Chris, she had been disarmed and Hugo possessed to weapons.  Chris new the duel was over.  Hugo stood up and moved towards Chris.  She backed up into the wall, and Hugo crossed the two weapons beneath her chin.

         Then, for the second time that day, Hugo found himself unable to focus on anything but her eyes.  Chris was first to break the silence.

         "You lucky son of a bitch."

         Hugo smiled.  "What are you talking about?  That little trip of mine was completely intentional."

         Chris grinned back.  "I bet."

         Hugo handed her back the sword that she was using and turned around.  He immediately froze in his tracks.

         "Whoa, we're surrounded," he commented.

         "Yes, they seemed to be very interested."

         "So… how do I get out of here?"  Hugo walked over to where the door would be if there were not so many people in the way.  They seemed incredibly stunned.  "Um… excuse me?"  The people cleared out and Hugo left the hall.

         Borus then walked over to Chris and commented, "That barbarian just lucked out."

         Chris chuckled a little.  "It's okay.  He probably would have ended up winning anyway.  He just had to much endurance."

         "You could have simple used your True Water Rune."

         "I thought about that, but it would have seemed too much like cheating.  Besides, he would probably be able to get in a deathblow while I was trying to use it.  If you'll excuse me, I never congratulated him on his victory."

*~~~*

         As Hugo left, he couldn't believe how lucky he had gotten.  Apparently the hard floors of the Brass Castle had some advantages after.  Hugo very much doubted that he would have been able to hold out much longer.  He had gotten very tired by the end of that battle.  Chris was an excellent fighter.  She was easily the most powerful that he could ever remember facing, except perhaps the one short lived duel he had had with Yuber.

         What was annoying Hugo the most, currently, was how strangely attracted he was to Chris.  It was hard for him sometimes to not just stop and gaze at her beauty.  That, of course, would get him some _really_ strange looks from anybody that saw.  Her knights would probably get pissed off.  Borus especially seemed to have a short fuse.  The oddest part was that a year ago Hugo didn't even notice Chris' looks.  He was probably just too caught up in Lulu's death.  It still hurt, but he felt no anger towards Chris.  Such was going through Hugo's head when the person in his thoughts spoke to him.

         "Hugo, you didn't stay long enough to allow me to congratulate you," spoke Chris.

         Hugo turned around and gave a bashful grin while he scratched the back of his head.  "There's no need for that.  I shouldn't have even won."

         "I would like to ask you something, however.  How do you endure for so long?"

         This caused Hugo to break out laughing.

         "What's so funny?"

         "I wanted to ask you the same thing.  I thought I was going to die out there."

         "Really?"

         Hugo nodded.  Well I really need to get a room it'll be getting late soon and I don't really want to wait until the last minute.

         "Wait, I'll come with you."

         "Um… all right, but won't the other knights get… I dunno… they act really strange sometimes…" Hugo finally managed to get out after spending forever trying to figure out how to word that particular sentence.

         "Don't worry about them.  They always act really strange."

         Hugo smiled.  After the two had gotten them a room Hugo spoke.

         "Well, I guess I'll just hang out in the room.  There's not really much else to do.  I'll be leaving in the morning, but I'll come back in a few days.  It'll depend on how long the council takes to listen to me.  It took forever last time."

         Chris nodded and walked away.

*~~~*

         Chris was just about to enter her room when she thought of something.  She should probably invite Hugo to eat breakfast with Louis and herself in the morning.  Chris turned around and walked back to where she had just come from.  She stood outside the door and was just about to knock when she heard Hugo talking to himself inside.  She meant to cut him short by rapping at the door, but her curiosity got the better of her.  She pressed her ear to the door and listened.

         "Spirits, I cannot believe I am falling for Chris," said Hugo slightly exasperated.  Chris' eyes widened at the sound of this.  "I can't be falling for a Zexen captain.  It doesn't matter that she's beautiful, smart, great to be around… hell, who am I kidding.  She's perfect."  After hearing this Chris blushed so hard that her face invented a brand new shade of red.  Chris quickly walked away, not wanting to eavesdrop anymore.  She did not look back as she turned into the next hall.  She leaned against the wall and slid to the ground, wrapping her arms around her knees.

         This would definitely cause difficulties to a lot of things.  Hugo hadn't made any direct passes at her yet.  She decided to pretend that she never heard him.  Perhaps he would never try anything.  She did not want to complicate her life right now by thinking about how she felt towards Hugo.  He was just a good friend.  Well since she was pretending she had never heard him, she should still invite Hugo to breakfast.  Chris sighed and stood up.  She had waited long enough to take away any suspicion that she might have been listening.  The Zexen captain walked up to the door and knocked.  

         Hugo opened the door and smiled.  "Lady Chris, what is it?"

         "Did you just call me 'Lady Chris'?  You never call me 'Lady Chris'."

         Hugo just shrugged.  "Sorry.  So what did you want to ask?"

         "I was wondering if you would like to join me and Louis for breakfast tomorrow morning before you leave."

         He seemed to think about this for a moment.  "Okay, why not.  How early and where?"

         "We can eat in my room.  Come as soon as you're ready."

         "Um… I usually wake up before sunrise unless the bed is really comfortable.  I'll just wait a little after I'm awake and show up.  Is that okay?"

         Chris nodded.  "Of course."

         "Well, good night, Chris.  Pleasant dreams."

         "You, too."  Chris then headed to her own room, removed her armor, and changed into her pajamas.  She really hoped that the rest of her life would not be as hectic as it looked like it was about to become.

*~~~*

Author Notes:  Amazing!  I actually finished the first chapter.  It only took me three days!  Damn, I must be dedicated.  Oh, and if you're wondering about why Hugo grew, I know that that isn't the way the True Runes work.  I'm sorry, but I just could not write a Chris/Hugo story without Hugo being about six inches taller.  He just looks too much like a kid next to her when he's short.  By the way, if you're wondering and don't know, Hugo is 15 during SIII and Chris is 22.  This would make Hugo 16 now and Chris 23.  It's only a 7-year difference.  I look at it this way, though.  Since it's like Hugo aged a year and Chris didn't, he's only 6 years younger.  Oh, and Geddoe is 112.  If you're wondering about him he will make an appearance in the story, just not for a while.  If there are a lot of errors in this story I'm sorry.  I didn't proofread it myself because I wanted to post it so quickly.  I'll go back through it and make corrections later.  Okay… um… bye until the next chapter.  I will hopefully be able to get it out soon.  Oh and by the way: please review.  Reviews make my writing oh so much quicker.  Even if you flame, I'm okay with it as long as it is done intelligently.  Don't tell me that it sucks.  Tell me why it sucks.  Happy Writing.


	2. What a Name Can Say

Disclaimer:  I don't own Suikoden.

Author Notes:  Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers!  I can't believe I actually got reviews on the first chapter.  You have no idea how happy this makes me.  First, I would like to be ashamed that I spelled 'Zexen' wrong every time.  I typed it with an 'a' once and my fingers memorized it.  Don't worry though, I went back and fixed it.  Okay… anyways.  I know a lot of people that are married where one of them is at least 10 years older.  My uncle is 7 years younger than my aunt, too.  Freaky.  Holy crap this A/N is getting long…  Anyways, I am definitely planning to add some Thomas/Cecile, even if it's only a little.  I was also considering Geddoe/Queen, and now I just might do that.  This story will definitely not have any Aila/Jacques.  By the way, I do NOT like Borus' character.  He just gets on my nerves.  You have no idea how much fun I had beating on him with Geddoe and Queen.  Don't worry Borus-fans; I will try not to demonize him too much.  So by now you people have probably skipped straight to the reading anyways, so if you're still here, go.

Dreams and Nightmares 

**Chapter II**

**What a Name Can Say**

**By:  Luke 'Deathplight'**

         Hugo yawned sitting up in his bed.  He stretched his arms out and blinked his eyes several times until his vision finally came into focus.  He stood up and looked around trying to remember where he was.  After a minute the young Karayan finally realized that he was in a hotel room in the Brass Castle.  He walked over to the little window and looked outside to see how late he had slept.  The sun was just rising over the top of the horizon and a pretty reddish-pink color filled that part of the sky.

         "Hm… it's almost as beautiful as Chris," he said allowed without thinking.  Hugo then realized what he had just said.  "Ack, where did that come from?"

         Hugo sighed.  His thoughts were becoming very annoying.  For now he would just try to ignore them and not do anything stupid.  That of course would be easier said than done.

         Hugo got changed and made the bed that he was previously occupying.  Hugo wasn't sure how long to wait and just sat at the edge of the bed.  He listened to the spirits in order to help pass the time.  There was a gentle breeze coming through the window, which made it very easy to hear the wind spirits.  They were singing very loudly today.  In Karaya many of the people liked to dance to the song of the spirits when they were so loud and easy to hear.  It was a soothing melody.

         He decided to wait until the sky turned blue and the sun was completely yellow before leaving the room.  Hugo changed out of his pajamas and walked down the hallway towards the room that Chris occupied.  He had no idea how late Zexens slept so he hoped that he wouldn't wake her.

         The soon-to-be village chief now stood outside of the door.  He just stood there for a moment contemplating whether he should knock yet or not.  Hugo finally just knocked on the door and prayed that she wasn't still asleep.

         Luckily, it didn't seem like he had woken her as she answered the door quickly.  Hugo was pleasantly surprised to find that she was not wearing her armor this morning.

         "What took you so long, Hugo?  I though you said you wake up before sunrise," she commented.

         "Today I woke up right at sunrise.  I wasn't sure how long I should wait before coming.  I actually stood outside of the door for about ten minutes."

         Chris chuckled a little.  "Well come in."

         Once Hugo entered he noticed Louis sitting down on the couch.  "Hey Louis, how's it going?"

         "Um… pretty good," Louis replied tentatively.  Hugo smiled.  "Well, I guess I'll get the breakfast now."

         "Thank you."  Hugo sat down on the couch, and Louis left the room.  Hugo tilted his head back on the sofa and looked up at the ceiling.  "Louis doesn't want to become a knight does he?"

         Chris shook her head 'no' and sat down in a chair.  "He'd much rather just serve me.  I promised that I'd turn him into a full fledged knight, though."

         Hugo looked at Chris and noticed her posture.  She was sitting straight up.  Hugo doubted that she ever did otherwise.

         "Don't you ever relax?" he asked with a small smile.

         "What do you mean?"

         "Every time that I see you, you act so proper and you're posture is always stiff.  Do you ever calm down a little or slouch?"

         Chris shook her head.  "I guess I don't.  It was just the way I was taught."

         Louis arrived a short time later with only to plates.  He put one in front of Hugo and one in front of Chris.

         "What about you?" Hugo asked him.

         "I already ate," Louis replied.  Hugo saw Chris glare at him.  "Well, I guess I better get to my training," and he walked off with a sigh.

         "I can't believe him," Chris said slightly frustrated.  Hugo just smiled and laughed a little.

         "Well I guess it's just you and me."  The two ate there breakfast without much talking.  There was a lot of uneasiness and they were both too consumed in there own thoughts.  Hugo finished first.  He relaxed himself and began to listen to the spirits.  The wind was still singing that same slow clear melody.

         "What are you doing?" Hugo heard Chris ask.

         "Listening to the spirits," Hugo replied.  "The wind is singing very loudly today."

         "That's just a superstition."

         Hugo raised an eyebrow.  "Is it?  Or are you just not listening?  Here, I'll show you.  Give me your left hand."

         Chris held out her left hand.  She was obviously very skeptical about the whole thing.  Hugo took her hand in his own hand.

         "Okay, now close your eyes.  Focus only on the sound of the wind.  I'll try to channel it to you," he said.

         After a moment Chris said, "Wait… I think I can hear it.  Is it like music?"

         "Yes," Hugo replied.  "Right now you will probably only be able to hear the spirits with my help or with the help of someone else who can hear them.  You should be able to hear water on your own, though, because of your rune.  Eventually you will be able to hear them all by yourself."

         "Thank you, Hugo."

         "Hm… would to care to dance?" Hugo asked.

         "What?"

         "In Karaya, a lot of the people dance when it's this easy to hear the music.  I don't though because I've never had anybody to dance with.  So, how about it?"

         "Um… I guess…"

         They stood up and Hugo now took her right hand in his left.  Her left hand was resting on his shoulder while his right was oddly placed near her waist.  It was incredibly odd and uneasy at first.  Eventually they settled into the music, however, swaying back and forth.  Anybody who walked in at that moment would have been incredibly confused unless they too could hear the spirits.

         As they danced, both of Hugo's arms somehow ended up around Chris' waist and Chris' arms around Hugo's neck.  Neither of them was thinking about much of anything.  Eventually they stopped and just stared into each other's eyes.  They just stood like that for a while.

         "Milady…" came a voice from the door.  The two quickly separated and found that Louis was the owner of the voice.

         "Oh um… Louis…" Chris replied slowly.

         "Um… I think I'll just be leaving now…" Hugo stated and walked out of the door passing Louis.

         'What the hell was that?' he thought as he exited the room.

*~~~*

         "What are you doing here Louis?  I thought you were headed to the training room," said Chris.

         "I came back to see how your breakfast was going.  It seemed to be going… well," Louis replied with a huge grin on his face.

         "What do you mean by that?"

         Louis then burst out laughing.  "You two looked like you were going to start making out if I hadn't shown up!"

         "That's preposterous.  Hugo was only showing me how to listen to the spirits," exclaimed Chris in her defense.  This caused Louis to start laughing even harder.

         "Yeah, sure, I bet."

         "You could even ask him to show you sometime.  You'll know I'm not lying then."

         "I would, but I just don't feel that way towards Hugo."

         "You really know how to get on my nerves sometimes, Louis."

         Louis' breathing finally began to slow down.  "Oh man, I need a glass of water."

         "Well I guess I'll be leaving now too."

         Louis broke out another smirk.  "Going to find Hugo, I suppose?"

         "Louis, forgive me for saying this, but fuck off."

         Louis started laughing again.  One thing was for sure.  Chris was never going to dance with Hugo again.

*~~~*

         Hugo was in his own room getting his things ready.  He was just about to leave for Vinay.  He was looking forward to his ride there.  The young Karayan did not like being cooped up in the castle.  While where he was heading was an even worse place, the ride might almost make up for it.  Hopefully it would not take too long.  He didn't want to waste much of his vacation in that busy place.

         He was just about to leave when he heard a knock on the door.  Who would be knocking on this door?  It was probably a maid or something.  Hugo opened the door to and was surprised to find Chris on the other side?

         "Chris, what are you doing here?"

         "Hugo, do you mind if I join you on your trip to Vinay?  I really want to get out of this castle and I would also like to see what has been taking so long.  It took them six months to finally look at one of the proposed treaties and now it has been six more months since then."

         Hugo studied her face for a moment and smiled.  "Louis gave you a hard time didn't he?"

         "Yes, you have no idea," she replied.

         "I really am sorry about what happened.  I kinda got messed up there…  So sure you can come with me if you want.  I don't have anything against it, but don't you have 'knight stuff' to do or something?"

         "No, actually, I was given a week's leave."

         "Cool.  What'll you do about the other knights?"

         "I've already told them that I was going to be heading to Vinay."

         Hugo raised an eyebrow.  "Well, I was just about to leave.  I'll wait for you to get your things."

         "Thank you, Hugo."

         "Uh… your welcome I guess.  You really didn't need to ask me if you could go to Vinay, though.  I guess I'll wait for you by the exit to the castle.  I have to go get Fubar first."

         "Okay, I'll meet you there."

*~~~*

         Hugo left the room after gathering all of his things ended headed out of the castle to the east courtyard.  He walked until he reached the stables and entered.  Fubar was lying down on the ground and was apparently sleeping.  Hugo nudged the griffon a little to wake him up.

         "Hey, Fubar.  We're gonna leave now."

         Fubar stood up and let out and excited, "Kueee!"

         Hugo smiled at the griffon.  He took him out of the stables and began walking to the courtyard on the other side of the castle.  He reached the westernmost part of the castle territory and waited for Chris to show up.

*~~~*

         Chris picked up her things and headed out.  She had decided not to wear her armor.  It was extremely uncomfortable at times even if it was useful in battle.  She had also let her hair down.

         She began walking towards the stables in order to get her horse.  She passed through the courtyard and into the stables.  The Zexen captain walked over to her white mare and opened the gate to let him out.   Chris did not mount the horse yet and simply pulled it by the reins towards the western exit of the castle.  As she passed through she heard a familiar voice from behind.

         "I see you are leaving now, Lady Chris," said Borus, the owner of the voice.

         Chris turned and nodded.  "Yes, you are correct."

         "I hope you don't mind if I see you off?" he asked.  This could end up disastrous if Borus saw Hugo.  Borus' jealous nature would set off even though nothing was going on between Chris and Hugo.

         "Thank you, but there is no need for that."

         "I insist."

         Chris sighed.  She couldn't very well just say 'no'.  Chris really hoped that Hugo was not there waiting for her yet.

         Sure enough, as Chris and Borus neared the end of the Brass Castle, Hugo, mounted on his griffon, came into view.  This could definitely lead to problems.

         "I wonder what he's doing here," Borus commented.

         Once they became in proper speaking distance to Hugo, Borus relayed that question to him.

         "What brings you here?"

         Hugo looked down.  He seemed to have been lost in thought.  After surveying the situation and seeing Chris' face he said, "Oh, I'm just taking Fubar out for a ride.  What are you doing?"

         "I'm leaving for Vinay.  Sir Borus is seeing me off," came Chris' answer.  She was relieved that Hugo was a rather good actor.

         "Oh, okay.  Well, see you around."  Hugo and Fubar took to the air and began circling around the castle.  Chris let out a sigh of relief.  There was one awful situation that was avoided.  She said goodbye to Borus and left the castle.

*~~~*

         Hugo waited for a moment and then he and Fubar landed next down next to Chris who had already started on the path.

         "What was that about?" he asked her.

         "On my way to the eastern part of the castle Borus saw me and insisted on seeing me off," she responded.

         Hugo laughed.  "He's a really strange guy, alright."

         Chris smiled.  "Yes, he is."

         "I see you're not wearing your armor."

         "It is rather uncomfortable.  I don't really like wearing it."

         "That's why I never wear it.  I usually stick to chain mail even though it doesn't offer as much protection," Hugo said and pulled down the front of his shirt a little to show that chain mail that he was wearing.  He then sighed.  The Karayan had no idea what was going on between this woman and him.  Was he really falling in love with her? And why was she acting so strange towards him lately?

         "What are you thinking?" questioned Chris.

         Hugo laughed.  All of the times for her to ask that questioned.  "Oh, nothing important."

         "Tell me."

         "Chris… I'd rather not.  It's kind of… personal?"

         "Okay," she replied.  Little did Hugo know, after saying that it was 'personal' she knew exactly what his thoughts were.

         "Why? What are you thinking?" he asked.

         "Um… like yours it's also kind of personal?" she responded.  Unlike Chris, Hugo had no idea what she was thinking.

         "Well, let's go," Hugo said smiling.  He and Fubar sped up and Chris followed suit.

*~~~*

         They had been riding on the plains for a long time, and Hugo was becoming very restless.  There was a gentle breeze in the air that had a sweet fragrance of flowers in the air.  It was a welcome change to the metal and human smell of the Brass Castle.  He relaxed in his position on Fubar and listened to the spirits intently.

         The wind's song could be heard, though it was not nearly as loud as the other day.  The melody was still incredibly soothing to a tired soul.  The earth let out a gentle hum that would lull a person to sleep if they were not wide-awake.  Hugo could now hear the fire spirits more often now that he had his rune.  While he could hear them when there was an actual fire before, those occurrences were on the rare side.  Now all he had to due was listen to the True Rune.  The fire had a growl or roar that was still soothing in its own way.  He could currently hear the water spirits merely because of the True Water Rune that Chris possessed.  Normally he could only hear them near water.  Those spirits thrived in places like the duck clan.  They also had a song, but it was a little quicker than that of the wind's song.  The only spirit he could not hear right now was the lightning spirits.  That was a pity because they were one of Hugo's favorite spirits to listen too.  While some people were scared of storms, Hugo welcomed them with open arms.  The lightning spirits were always excited and tended to make Hugo hyper out of his mind.  They had a certain presence that was not loud or overwhelming like the fire could be at times but it was not calm like the wind spirits either.  Lightning was the most mysterious of the five elements.  He decided to put the spirits into conversation with Chris.

         "Have you been able to hear the water spirits on your own?" Hugo questioned.  Chris looked up slightly surprised in the sudden break of silence.  They were now riding side by side.

         "Yes.  I think I've also been able to hear traces of the wind spirits," she said.  Hugo noticed a slight blush on her face, and he assumed that she must have remembered the last time Hugo had let her hear the wind.

         Hugo smiled.  "Would you care to hear any of the others?" he questioned.

         Chris seemed to be debating this in her head.

         "Don't worry," Hugo assured.  "I won't ask you to dance or anything again."

         "Okay… alright," she responded and held out her hand.

         Hugo took her hand in his right hand.  "Try to listen to the fire.  It is a kind of roar."

         Chris complied and after a moment she smiled.  "I can hear it."

         "All right, now try and listen to the earth."

         "You can hear the earth spirits?"

         Hugo nodded in response.  "It's a kind of rumbling and it can lull you to sleep if you don't watch out."

         After waiting another moment Chris also heard this too.

         "You hear it?" Hugo questioned.

         "Yes, I can," she replied.

         "I wish I could show you the lightning spirits.  I'll have to wait until the next storm that takes place when I'm with you or maybe until Geddoe shows up.  It's kind of strange that normal runes' spirits don't really sound like the spirits that are free.  It's different with the True Runes for some reason."

         Hugo subconsciously didn't want to release his hold on Chris' hand but she did it for him when she pulled her hand back rather quickly.

         Hugo just looked at her for a moment and then said, "You're beautiful."  It was completely out of the blue.

         "What?  Um… thank you…" Chris responded tentatively.

         "Nobody has ever told you that you're beautiful before?" asked Hugo.

         "No, it's just that—"

         "Nobody who knows you really are has ever told you," Hugo finished for her.

         "That's right.  How did you know?"

         "I see all the people that admire you.  It's great that they have somebody to look up to, but they don't know who you really are and they don't care to try and find out."

         Chris nodded in agreement.

         "That's one of the reasons that I'm glad I'm a Grasslander.  Most of the people in the clans that I visit often knew me before I became the Flame Champion.  Because of this not much has really changed since then.  Some of them seem to respect me more, but that is mostly just because we all fought together as Fire Bringer."

         "I wish I had that in Zexen," Chris said slightly sadly.

         "I wish you had that too."

         Chris just looked at him after he said that.  Hugo really wished he knew what she was thinking right now.

         "Look, we're about to enter the forest," stated Chris.

         Hugo nodded.  Should he really pursue what his heart was feeling?

*~~~*

         The two of them were at the beginning of the forest.  Fortunately, most of the beasts didn't bother them and the ones that did would be weak and easily dealt with.  Chris was incredibly consumed in her thoughts a lot more since Hugo had visited.  She honestly had no idea why she asked to come with him on this trip.  Chris told herself that it was just to get away from the Brass Castle, but she honestly didn't know if this was really true or not.  Perhaps she just wanted to find out what was going on between her and Hugo.  One thing was for sure; the remainder of the trip would be very interesting.

         Chris also noticed that Hugo was actually hitting on her a bit also.  She would often times find him just staring at her.  It was also interesting that she found herself staring into his eyes a lot also.  They were the most wonderful shade of turquoise that she had ever seen.

         "Let's pick up the pace," said Hugo interrupting Chris' thoughts.  "I love riding but I'm starting to get bored and I think Fubar might be, too."

         Chris smiled.  "All right, let's go."

         "I'll race you," challenged Hugo and took off on Fubar.

         "No you don't."

         They just rode through the forest as quickly as possible on their mounts.  They were both having too much fun to notice any beasts that they passed, and they laughed the whole way.  They finally reached the other end of the forest and Vinay came into sight.  They slowed down and made their way up to the entrance of the city.

         Chris heard Hugo sigh.  "I really don't like this place," he commented.  "I just don't like the feeling of it here.  Even the spirits seem off in this place."

         Chris nodded and they entered the city.

*~~~*

         It was just as bad as Hugo remembered it was.  The streets were busy and people were everywhere.  He thought the last time he had been here was probably better than this time.  Most of the people had tried to avoid him the last time he was here.  This time people seemed to gather around because of Chris, not Hugo.  They just decided to ignore Hugo for the time being.  Everybody that passed would make an excuse to pass Chris and give some sort of greeting to her.

         Chris had already put her horse in the stables while Hugo had decided to left Fubar go where he pleased outside of the city.  He knew that Fubar would probably not be able to take the stables, in addition to the amount of noise in the city.

         Hugo and Chris soon approached her large house.

         "Could you wait a moment, Hugo?  I would just like to let the butler know that I am here.  You're welcome to come in if you like."  She told him.

         "That's okay, I'd better go to the inn and make sure I have a room for tonight."

         "You'll do know such thing." She replied.

         "I won't?"

         "Of course not.  You'll be staying in one of the guest rooms."

         "Um… Okay.  Thank you," he said and smiled.

         "You are quite welcome.  So will you come in now?"

         "All right.  Sure."

         They entered the house, and once again Hugo was in awe of what he saw.  This building was huge and very elegant indeed.  It also seemed like the butler was the only person who was really here.  Chris was always somewhere else.

         "This place is bigger than I remember," he commented.

         "Oh that's right.  You were here before weren't you?"

         "Yes.  I was delivering a message from Jimba.  It was strange to find out later that the message had been false all along."

         "Yes…" Chris said sadly.

         Hugo then realized what he'd said.  "I'm sorry, Chris.  I shouldn't have brought it up."

         "Don't worry it's okay," she said and put on a smile.  Hugo quickly hugged her and stepped back.  The butler soon came down the steps and smiled.

         "Lady Chris, it is so good to see you!" he said.

         "It's good to see you.  I would just like to let you know that I'll be spending the night here.  Hugo is to stay in one of the guestrooms if you could please prepare it," Chris said and then motioned to Hugo.  Hugo just stood there and didn't say anything.

         "Certainly, madam."

         "Well, if you'll please excuse us.  We need to speak to the council now."

         "Okay, Milady.  I'll see you when you return."

         With that Hugo and Chris exited from the house and began to walk towards the council building.  Hugo's last meeting with the council had not been very favorable.  Hopefully he wouldn't have two wait two or three days again, but he doubted that that would be a problem since Chris was with him.

         They walked up the steps and were greeted by the guard.

         "Good day, Lady Chris," he said.  "I'm assuming you wish to speak you may enter."

         "Thank you."

         The guard then noticed Hugo.  "And what do you want '_barbarian_'?" he said with more than a little scorn in his voice.  The rage Hugo felt right now started to unintentionally fuel the True Fire Rune that he bore.  Fortunately, his lessons had taught him how to act somewhat diplomatic and not lash out, but the anger was still there.  The Fire Rune then began to glow slightly in his hand.  The guard's eyes widened.

         "The _Flame Champion _and I wish to speak to the council."

         "Y-yes, of course," the guard stuttered, and then he allowed them to pass.  Hugo calmed himself and the Rune's glow faded as the entered the building.

         "What was that?" Chris questioned Hugo.

         "Sorry.  When I get pissed off it starts to glow for some reason," he replied.

         "I see… Well you certainly gave that guard quite a scare."

         Hugo chuckled a little.  "Well he definitely deserved it.  Thank god for the lessons my mother gives me though.  I'd never be able to handle this kind of thing without them."

         Chris nodded and they headed up to the council room.  Most of the council was already there and the two met with them.

*~~~*

         The council meeting had lasted very long.  Hugo had delivered the message from his mother and they insisted on making it an hour-long conversation about nothing.  Hugo got the entire point they were trying to put across within the first five minutes.  They idea was very clear.  The council didn't want to sign the treaty but they knew they could not refuse it.  They had made all kinds of excuses, but they all pointed to that same answer.  Hugo noticed that Chris also had seemed to get rather annoyed with the council after a time.  After the meeting finally ended, Hugo and Chris left the council room.

         Chris led the way while Hugo trailed behind.  Just as they were about to exit the building a group of knights approached them.

         "Lady Chris, would you care to join us in the training area?" one of them asked hopefully.  All of the other knights agreed.

         Chris sighed.  "Do you mind, Hugo?" she asked.

         Hugo shook his head.  "I'll just watch."

         The group of knights had gathered around Chris as they heading to the training area.  Hugo trailed to the back and couldn't help but feeling left out.

         Hugo watched them train for a while with a little smile on his face.  After a while though, he couldn't help but start feeling bored.  He decided to wander around the place for a bit.

         He turned and accidentally bumped into one of the knights.

         "Watch where you're going, '_barbarian_'!" the knight yelled angrily.

         "Sorry," Hugo muttered.

         "Well you should be asshole."

         Needless to say Hugo was pissed.  "Shall we settle this with a friendly duel?" Hugo questioned.

         "Might as well.  I'd like to see you last two minutes."

         "I'd like to see you last two seconds," Hugo retorted.  Needless to say Hugo's hand started to glow.  The man's reaction was similar to the guards outside.  Now nearly all the eyes in the room were looking at Hugo and the knight.

         Hugo walked over to Chris, who had also seen the confrontation.

         "Chris could you please use your Water Rune on my hand?  It'd probably burn right through the wooden sword."

         Chris nodded and complied.  Now that Hugo's hand wasn't glowing anymore he started to walk over to the wooden weapons.

         "Hugo?" Chris called.  He turned to look at her.  "Kick his ass."

         Hugo smiled and a muttering of all the people occurred in the area.  Hugo picked up a wooden sword and got ready to face off with the knight who seemed stunned beyond belief.

         "Are you… the Flame Champion, Hugo?" somebody had the courage to ask.

         Hugo nodded in reply.

         Somebody else made a comment directed at the knight.  "You just picked a fight with the Flame Champion!  He'll slaughter you!"

         The knight, apparently, didn't need to be told this.

         Hugo charged and the knight fell to his knees and folded his hands together.

         "Please don't hurt me!" he cried.

         Hugo stopped before he even got in striking distance of the knight.  He just stood there.  Then finally the young Karayan started laughing.  Everything was silent for a moment until Chris walked over to Hugo.

         "What's so funny?" she asked.

         "It's amazing what a name can do."

         Chris nodded.  "Let's go.  I'm getting sick of this place."

         "Yeah, me too."

         They left the area and headed towards the house.  It was just about dinnertime.

*~~~*

         Hugo and Chris had just finished eating when she asked out of nowhere, "Would you like to go for a walk?"

         Hugo smiled.  "Wouldn't being seen with a 'barbarian' tarnish your image?" he asked jokingly.

         "I sure hope so," she said and smiled in return.

         "All right.  Sure I'll go for a walk with you."

         They headed out of the house and took to the streets.  For once, Hugo didn't lag behind.  He stood right next to her.  They were only about an inch away each other standing side to side.  Walking that close would probably project a bad image to the rest of the people in the city, but since Chris didn't seem to care Hugo didn't either.  It was getting dark out and the only lights came from the moon and a few torches that were lit to light the way.  Some of the shops were also still open.

         They just walked for a while silently.  They approached the dock that headed out to the sea.  The water spirits could be heard not only from Chris' Rune but from the water as well.

         "Are you listening to the water spirits right now?" Hugo asked.

         "No," Chris replied.

         "You should.  Your rune is happy that it's near the sea."

         Hugo watched as Chris opened herself up to the spirits.  He saw her smile.

         "You're right," she said.

         They continued walking.  The two were now walking through the bazaar.  There were still a few shops open, but they would be closing soon.  Most of the people were off the streets now that it was getting late, and in the darkness few of the people that were out there didn't recognize Chris.

         "What's it like to be famous?" Hugo asked her.

         "What do you mean?"

         "Everywhere that we go it seems like people know who you are and want to hang around," he explained.

         "I don't know… I guess it's always been like that.  But everybody knows you, too," she replied.

         "Yeah, but nobody knows what I look like.  They see me walking with you and they look at us really strangely.  They just assume that I'm another Grasslander and refer to me as a 'barbarian'.  Honestly, I think I like it that way.  The only time people act strange when they see me is if somebody mentions 'Hugo' or 'Flame Champion' or 'Leader of the Fire Bringer'.  I don't know if I would be able to take it if everybody in Zexen recognized me.  And it seems like when they do figure out who I am they just get really scared."

         Chris listened to his little speech.  "I guess you're right she said."

         Hugo sighed.  "Chris… can I talk to you about something?"

         "Sure."

         "Chris… I…" he said and trailed off.  "I… never mind.  Forget it."

         "Tell me.  What is it?"

         Hugo sighed again.  "Don't worry about it.  It's not important.  We should be getting back.  It's kind of late."

         He could see that Chris was still very curious about what he was going to say, but he was relieved that she decided to drop the subject.

         They then headed back to the house.  Hugo and Chris washed up; not at the same time of course, and just kind of hung around for a while.  Chris gave Hugo a little tour of the house.  It was a grand building.  It was the biggest living establishment that Hugo could ever remember seeing where only one or two people lived there.  Once it got late Chris headed to her room and Hugo took to the bedroom.

         'What's going on with me lately?' he asked himself silently.  'Am I really falling in love with her?'

         He was consumed in his thoughts for a moment as he sat up in the bed.  There was a small flame coming from a candle that flickered and bounced Hugo's shadow.  The young Karayan then came to the one of the most important questions he had asked himself that night.

         'What would have happened if I had finished that sentence?  What would have happened if I told Chris right to her face that I was falling in love with her?'

         Hugo sighed and still thought about everything that came to mind.  He slowly drifted into a calm, peaceful sleep.

         He dreamt of her.

*~~~*

         Ha ha!  Another chapter is done.  I don't really have much to say about this now.  Thanks again for all the reviews.  I really hope I get feedback as good for this chapter too.  It was the reason that I got this chapter out so much more quickly than I had expected.  And remember:

~When you are faced with a death plight, it's best to turn the other cheek.~


	3. Help me, I'm lost

Disclaimer:  I don't own Suikdoen.  Never have, never well.

Author Notes:  Well here I go again with the third chapter.  I hope I'll be able to get this one out within the week.  Judging by the speed of my last two chapters, I think I'll be able to.  I am unbelievably happy at the amount of feedback I have received for the last two chapters.  I was a little bit happier with the positive output of the first chapter, though.  Believe me, It makes my writing much more inspired and much quicker.  This will probably be your favorite chapter for a while because Chris/Hugo scenes will be conspicuously absent.  Just kidding.  The actual plot will probably start by the next chapter.  I hope you all enjoy.

Dreams and Nightmares 

**Chapter III**

**Help Me, I'm Lost**

**By: Luke 'Deathplight'**

            Hugo woke up from a very good dream.  He had no idea what it was about.  The Karayan couldn't remember a single aspect of the dream except for one thing.  The dream's atmosphere was incredibly happy.  Based on this, Hugo narrowed it down to one subject matter that the dream was probably about: Chris.  He was driving himself insane over the whole matter.  He sighed.  Oh well.  It didn't matter.  Hugo doubted that Chris felt the same way towards him.

            He sat up in his bed and looked around.  After a small look around the room he finally collected his thoughts and realized that he was in a guest bedroom of Chris' house.  He was glad that the meeting with the council had ended days earlier than his last experience with the council, but now he had less time to spend with Chris.  Hugo still wanted to visit Budehuc Castle.

            After a moment of sorting through all of the random things going on inside his head, he remembered that Chris still had the rest of the week on leave.

Perhaps he should invite Chris to come visit the castle and all of their friends with him.  He didn't really want to ride there, though, because she might insist on checking on things at Brass Castle along the way.  If any of her knights found out that she was traveling with Hugo, _he_ would be forced to pay hell.  Those knights, especially Borus, got extremely jealous at times.

Hugo then thought of Fubar.  He doubted that Chris had ever flown before.  If Hugo asked her if she wanted to fly there with him on Fubar, they would not only save time but they wouldn't have to stop at the Brass Castle.  Of course, they would have to sit very close to each other, but Hugo honestly wasn't very against that fact.  He had decided to finally accept the fact that he was falling for her.  If something happened, it happened.  If it didn't, Hugo was okay with that too.  Fubar would probably be coming to check on Hugo soon.

The young Karayan looked out of the small window to find that it was still dark outside.  Chris would no doubt still be asleep for probably another hour.  He decided to go out and try to find Fubar.  He wanted to spend as little time as possible in this hellish city.

He stood up out of bed and changed into his daytime clothing.  He put on his sandals and walked out of the door to the room.  It was dark in the house, but he had little travel navigating.  Hugo headed out of the door to the house and into the streets of Vinay.  There weren't any lights, but the sun was now just beginning to come out from the horizon.

            Hugo headed to the exit of the city and walked out.  He ventured a little ways from the city before letting out a loud cry.

            "Fubar!" he called out loudly.  He called out again and waited for a response.  Hopefully the griffon had not ventured to far from the city.

After waiting for a moment Hugo heard a loud "Kuee!"  It appeared that Fubar hadn't gone very far after all considering his quick return.

The griffon landed next to Fubar and let out another "Kuee."  This one was softer however.  Hugo stroked Fubar's feathered neck and smiled.

"Do you think you could wait just outside of the city for a while?" Hugo asked the griffon.  "I plan on leaving as quickly as possible.  Hopefully that won't take long."

Fubar apparently understood and didn't object as he walked off to the side of the path and lay down.  Hugo smiled again.  It was amazing how it seemed that Fubar could seem to understand human speech.

Hugo headed back into the city and walked towards Chris' house.  The sun had peeked over the horizon a little more since he had first seen it.  The sky was now ablaze with pinks and oranges.

'I'd really like to see one of these sunrises with Chris,' he thought to himself.  Hugo approached the house and entered.  Once the door had opened he found Chris standing at the bottom of the steps.

"There you are.  I thought you had left without me," she said.

Hugo grinned.  "I wouldn't dream of it.  Wow, you're up really early."

Chris shrugged in response.  "Would you like to watch the sunrise with me?"

Hugo raised an eyebrow.  Well that was interesting.  He had just thought about wanting to see a sunrise with Chris.

"All right sure."  Hugo left the house for the second time this morning, but now Chris accompanied him.

"Let's get out of the city, first," Chris said.  "The buildings tend to block most of it."

Hugo nodded and they walked out of the city.  This of course got Fubar's attention, who had been waiting patiently by the entrance.

"Kueee…" Hugo heard and looked at Fubar.

"Not ready quite yet, Fubar."

"Kuee…" he responded sadly.

Chris just looked on and didn't ask any questions.  Then they turned their attention to the entire reason that they had come outside in the first place.  The trees blocked their view a little, but most of it could be seen.

"Would you like to look at it in the air?" Hugo questioned.

"What?" Chris asked in reply.

"Do you want to have Fubar fly us so we could look at it without any of the trees blocking it?"

"Um… I don't know… Don't you think I'll get sick?"

"I doubt that you would.  I'll have Fubar fly real smooth if you're worried."

'Please!  Just say "yes",' Hugo shouted inside his head.

Chris complied with his silent demands.  "All right… I guess."

Hugo smiled.  "Fubar.  You don't mind an extra passenger do you?"

"Kueee…"

"Good.  Do you think you could just fly us around for a little bit so we can look at the sunset clearly?"

"Kueee…"

Hugo walked over to the griffon, who was now standing, and hopped on.  Chris walked over but just kind of stood there slightly confused.

"How do I get on?" she asked.

Hugo smiled.  He had Fubar bend his knees down lower.  Hugo then picked her up by the waist and sat her in front of him on the griffon.

"Okay, Fubar.  Let's go!"

"Kueee!"

They took off up into the air and Fubar just flew around in little circles.  Chris' attention was directed at the sunset but Hugo's was elsewhere.  Perhaps this had not been such a good idea after all.  The scent of Chris' hair was intoxicating.  All Hugo could think about at that moment was the desire to wrap his arms around her waist.  Fortunately, his will power somehow upheld.  He shook his head and tried to snap back to reality.  After a moment he finally regained his composure.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Hugo heard Chris ask.

"Yeah."  But he added in his head, 'But it's not nearly as beautiful as you.'

"Wh-What?  R-really?"

"Huh?" he asked very confused.

"Y-you said that I was more beautiful than the sunset."

"I said that out loud!" Hugo exclaimed as his eyes widened.  Apparently he hadn't regained _all _of his composure.  The Karayan then started laughing quietly.

Chris heard this and must have taken it the wrong way.  "So you were just kidding?" she asked sadly.

"No," Hugo said after he had stopped laughing.  "I wasn't kidding at all.  I just can't believe I said that out loud."  Hugo wished to no end that he could see the cute little blush that he knew was on Chris' face right now.

"Well…" he said.  "I guess we should land.  Take us down, Fubar."

"No, wait.  Let's stay up here for a little longer," Chris said.

Hugo raised an eyebrow.  She wanted to stay up here longer with him?  Was she all right?  Maybe she had gotten airsick after all.

"Um… okay… tell me when your ready to land."

Chris surprised Hugo even more by actually leaning back into him.  Hugo just looked around and had absolutely no idea what to do.  For this, he did the only logical thing he could think of.  He just sat there.

After a moment Chris finally spoke.  "I'm ready to go down now."

Hugo nodded and told Fubar to land on the ground.  He did so and the two riders dismounted from the griffon.

Hugo wasn't really sure if it was a good idea to invite Chris to Budehuc with him riding on Fubar, but right now his mind was too lost to even care.

"Chris, I want to go to Budehuc on my little vacation away from Karaya.  Since you have the whole week left, I was wondering if you would like to come with me," he said.

Chris seemed to think about this for a minute.  "All right, sure," she finally said.  "But wouldn't it take a while and we would waste a lot of the trip trying to get there and then having to leave early to get back to the castle."

"Actually, I was thinking about that.  That's the real reason I asked if you wanted to see the sunrise from Fubar's back.  I wanted to know if you would get airsick.  It would take a lot less time to fly there.  Then we could fly back to here the day before you needed to get back."

"Um… all… right," she replied after a time.

Hugo smiled.  Well let's get ready.  Do you mind leaving as soon as possible?" Hugo asked.

Chris shook her head.  "No not at all.  Just let me get my things."

Hugo followed her back to the house.

*~~~*

            There were about a hundred different thoughts and questions going through Chris' mind as she got her a few of her things to head to Budehuc.  Of these questions, a few of them were:

'Why did I ask to see the sunrise with him?  Why did I agree to see it with him from Fubar?  Why did I want to stay up there longer?  Why did I lean back into him?  Why was I upset when he didn't wrap his arms around me?  Why did I choose to go to Budehuc with him?'  Then, one of the most important questions came.  'Am I falling in love with him, or is it just because I heard him say that he's falling for me?'

These questions would probably go unanswered for quite a while.  Then she heard Hugo call from outside the door.

"Are you ready, yet?" he asked.

"Yeah, just a second."  Chris walked out of the door carrying a small duffel bag with some changes of clothes and a few other items.  Her sword hung about her waist.  Hugo had a bag that was even smaller than hers.

"Well, let's go," Hugo said.

They walked out of the city once again, and Fubar stood up and looked at them.

"Hey Fubar, you don't mind flying us to Budehuc Castle do you?" Hugo questioned.

"Kuee…" said Fubar in response.

"Okay great.  We can take a break at about halfway there if you get tired."

"Kuee…"

Hugo got onto Fubar again, and he picked up Chris much the same way he did about a half an hour ago and set her in front of him.  She couldn't help but smile and was very glad that Hugo didn't see it.  Fubar began flying towards Budehuc Castle.

Hugo's bag was hanging off of his shoulder and Chris' bag was set in her lap and she held on to it to keep it from falling.  She wondered if Hugo would mind the Brass Castle being the checkpoint that he had referred to with Fubar, but decided against asking.  The Zexen Knight wanted to check in on things but she very much doubted that Hugo wanted to go back there.  It also probably would not be a good idea because if any of her knights saw them lend on Fubar there would definitely be problems.  They would not care to see the two within five feet from each other, let alone seeing her leaning into Hugo, which was what she was doing now.  That same annoyed feeling was there again from earlier that day.  Why wasn't Hugo wrapping his arms around her?  Chris knew he wanted to.  She did actually know the answer to this.  He was simply being a decent person and not trying to put a wedge between their friendship.  The question she really wanted to know the answer to was, "Why did she care?"  Chris' state of mind and her thoughts were confusing her to no end.  How did she feel about Hugo?  She was going to drive herself insane if she didn't figure it out soon.  Chris was too busy thinking to notice Hugo's arms entwine themselves around her.  She noticed after about two more minutes, but she didn't say anything.

*~~~*

            Hugo was too busy thinking to notice his arms entwining themselves around Chris.  It must have been a subconscious thing because Hugo had no idea.  He was completely immersed with his thoughts, which just happened to be about Chris anyways.  He was going to drive himself insane eventually.  Did he really love her or was it just a crush?  Should he not do anything and be safe or take a chance and risk jeopardizing the relationship that they already had.  It was just too damn confusing for Hugo to take.

            They flew like that for a while until Hugo finally directed his attention to the woman sitting in front of him.  Then he realized that his arms were secured tightly around her.  He would have blushed if he were the blushing type.  Instead he simply removed his arms from around her and let them hand down to his side again.  Hugo could have sworn that Chris let out a sad sigh.  He decided that it must have just been his imagination.

            Fubar, Chris, and Hugo flew for quite a time.  After Hugo was sure that they must have passed the Brass Castle by now, he decided it was time for a break.

            "Fubar, are you ready for a break?" he asked the griffon.

            "Kueee…" Fubar replied.  Apparently he was ready because Fubar landed almost immediately after Hugo had said that.  Hugo and Chris got off of the griffon and stepped onto the ground.  Both of their legs had to get used to the ground first, which was an interesting task.

            After a moment Chris sat down and began rummaging through her pack.

            "Are you hungry?" she asked Hugo.

            "Not really, but thanks anyways," he responded.

            "Are you sure?"

            "Positive."

            Chris took a bit of food out of the bag and began to eat.  Hugo just walked around still trying to get used to the hard earth.  He figured that they were not very far from the castle, so he decided to see if Chris wouldn't mind walking and give Fubar a break from flying.  He knew it was tiring to the poor beast.  Hugo sat down next to her and started a small conversation.

            "Do you mind walking the rest of the way?  I don't think we're very far from the castle and I think that Fubar could use a break," said Hugo

            "Sure, I don't mind," she replied after she had swallowed.

            "So, did you mind the flight?" he questioned her.

            Chris shook her head.  "No not at all.  I was mostly just thinking about things though."

            "Yeah, me too…" Hugo trailed off.  "I've been really confused about stuff lately."

            "Oh?"

            "Don't worry about it.  It's not important."

            Chris sighed.  "Okay."

            Chris finished eating and stood up.

            "Shall we get going?" she asked.

            "Yep," Hugo replied.  "Let's go."

*~~~*

            It was about two hours until dark when Hugo, Chris, and Fubar finally approached the entrance to the castle.  They walked up towards Budehuc and from afar Hugo could see Cecile at her usual post guarding the castle.  He smiled to himself.  As they approached he noticed that she looked much different.  She was a little taller.  Cecile appeared to have matured over the year, too.  Her face looked older and her armor was different now.  It now resembled the type of armor that Chris always wore, intended for a woman.  She still held her lance straight up on alert for any danger that might approach.

            "Hey!  Cecile!" Hugo called out as they approached her.

            "Noble Hugo, Lady Chris!  What are you doing here?"

            "Just stopping by," Chris replied.  Chris walked up to Cecile and hugged her.  Hugo's smile had never vanished from his face.  He looked at the two and then noticed a golden band with a jewel on it placed on the ring finger of her left hand.

            "Cecile, you're… engaged?" Hugo asked.

            Cecile smiled even wider if that was possible.  "Oh, that's right, you didn't hear.  Me and Thomas are engaged!"

            "Oh, I'm so happy for you," said Chris and hugged Cecile even tighter.

            "When's the wedding?" Hugo asked.

            "Two months," replied Cecile.

            "I'll be there," he said.

            "Me too," added Chris.  Chris stepped back from Cecile and Hugo remained in the same spot.

            Hugo then looked down at his right hand.  "I don't think I'll be getting married for a while… If ever," he said.

            Chris looked down at her right hand too.  "Same with me…"

            Cecile asked, "Are you two—"

            "No," said Hugo quietly cutting her off.

            "How did you know what I was going to say?" asked Cecile.

            "Because there was nothing else you could have said then…"

            "Riiiight…" replied Cecile.

            "You're really weird, Hugo," said Chris.

            Hugo smiled again and scratched the back of his head.  "Sorry.  So… how about we go get some rooms.  I hear this place has been pretty busy lately.  I'm kinda hungry too."

            Cecile smiled.  "Yes, there have been a lot of people coming lately.  Apparently the fact the Fire Bringer used this place as their homeland it's brought a lot of tourists, and more people are coming and setting up their businesses."

            "Heh, the Fire Bringer," Hugo said.  "It seems like it was so long ago."

            "I know what you mean," commented Chris.

            "Well, come on Cecile.  Let's head to the castle."

            "But… I have to stay here and guard it," protested Cecile.

            "Don't worry about it," responded Hugo.  "Fubar can guard the castle."

            "Well… all right," she sighed in defeat.  Then she brightened up.  "Let's go!"

            Hugo and Chris chuckled.

            They walked up towards the inn first.  They headed inside to find Sebastian behind the desk.

            "Well hello!" Sebastian said.  "We haven't seen you two in quite some time."

            "It's been far too long," Chris said.

            "They'd like to reserve two rooms for tonight," said Cecile.  "I told them how busy it gets around here lately.  Some people end up having to stay in Iksay Village because there's not enough rooms here."  Cecile smiled proudly at this.

            "Why of course," replied Sebastian.

            "Well, we're gonna go to the castle and see Thomas.  Later Sebastian," Cecile stated once Hugo and Chris had put their bags in their rooms.  She seemed to be rather excited by the visit.

            "See you later, Sebastian," said Hugo as they were quickly rushed out of the inn.  They headed to he main entrance of the castle.

            They entered the castle and walked up the stairs to see Thomas.  The three found him in his room buried in books and paperwork.

            "Thomas," said Cecile.  "We have visitors."

            "Who is it?"  Thomas stood up and kissed Cecile.  Hugo couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy that he couldn't have a relationship like that.  "Oh, Noble Hugo, Lady Chris!  Great of you to visit.  It's been ages."

            "I know," said Hugo.

            "Congratulations on your engagement," said Chris.

            Thomas smiled.  "Oh, Cecile told you?"

            "Actually, it was more of a bit of observation on Hugo's part," said Cecile.

            Thomas then surveyed the seen before him.

            "So, are you two—" began Thomas but was cut off.

            "No," replied Hugo quickly for the second time in ten minutes.

            Chris chuckled a little.  "Cecile was about to ask the same question."

            "I see," said Thomas.  "Forgive me."

            "There's no need for that," Hugo said.  "I must admit it does look kind of suspicious.  I hear from Chris that Louis—"

            "Hugo!" exclaimed Chris and glared at him.  Hugo just laughed in response.

            "I can see why Louis must have pushed his luck as far as he could.  It's so much fun getting you mad."

            Thomas and Cecile looked at each other, and then at Hugo and Chris.  They both had the same odd look on their face.

            "What's that look for?" Hugo asked.

            "Oh, no reason," said Thomas in defense.  "Would you like a tour of the castle?  We've made some revisions."

            "Sure that'd be great," said Chris and Hugo almost at the same time.

            "I guess I'll return to my post.  The new recruits have already finished their training for the day," said Cecile.

            "Oh?" asked Chris.

            "Yes, we've gotten a lot more people wanting to join the castle guard now," replied Cecile.  Chris smiled.

            "I remember used to having to train new knights," Chris commented.  "It wasn't very interesting and I didn't do a good job.  Hopefully you have better luck than I did."

            "Thank you, Lady Chris.  Well, I guess I'd better leave."  Cecile walked out of the room.

            Thomas showed them around the castle noting all the little changes and things of interest.  Hugo hadn't been paying attention to very much of it.  That was one of the reasons that Hugo didn't think he'd be a good chief.  His attention span could only hold out for so long before he got bored.  After what seemed like ages, the tour finally ended.

            "I guess I'm going to go get something to eat," Hugo said to Chris and Thomas.  Hugo had almost forgotten how hungry he had been.

            "I'll join you," said Chris.

            Hugo raised an eyebrow.  "Sure."

            They headed down to the restaurant.  Its menu had increased heavily since the last time that Hugo had been there.  It also appeared that the restaurant had evolved.  A person would no longer order up at the counter but would be waited on at their seats.

            There were a fairly good number of people eating at the restaurant.  Hugo guessed that the town would end up with another restaurant before long.  It seemed that the demand would also go up with the people.

            Hugo and Chris chose a two-person table and sat down across from one another.

            "This whole place has changed a lot hasn't it?" commented Chris.

            "Yes it has.  There was no place for the castle to go but up.  I guess the fact that this place held a huge importance in the war gave it a lot of publicity.  The original residents seem really happy with this.  There are even some housing establishments, too," returned Hugo.

            "I wonder what it would be like to live here," said Chris.

            "I'd like it better here than in Vinay or Brass Castle.  I still think that I'd prefer an open place like Karaya though."

            "I also think I'd like it better here than in Brass Castle or Vinay.  Here the people don't seem to judge me as much as they do in those places," remarked Chris.

            "You should visit Karaya some time.  They definitely wouldn't judge you there."

            "Really?  Even after what I did?"

            "Forgiving and forgetting is kind of what we believe.  I guess that's why I so easily gave up my vow for vengeance."

            "I see…  And what about Luce…?"

"Luce is okay now.  She says that it doesn't hurt to think about Lulu anymore."

            "I guess I could consider visiting there some time," said Chris.

            Hugo smiled.  "You'd better not go back on that."

            Chris smiled in return.  "I won't."

            The waiter then approached and asked them for their orders.

            "Would you like something to drink to start with?" he asked.

            "What do you have?" Hugo asked.

            "We have a variety of drinks that come from the tavern as well as fine wines made right here in Budehuc from our own vineyards," responded the waiter.

            "Uh… I guess I'll have some wine then," said Hugo nonchalantly.

            Chris raised an eyebrow.  "I'll have the same."

            The waiter nodded.  "I'll be right back to bring your drinks and make take your orders."  He then walked away.

            "I didn't know you drank wine," said Chris.

            Hugo shrugged.  "It's okay.  I don't really care for the kinds of drinks they have at the tavern.  I would have asked for just water, but that would make me feel really cheap."

            Chris chuckled a little.  "I see."

            The waiter returned with their drinks and he then took their orders.  He then returned to the building part of the restaurant.

            Hugo and Chris waited didn't have to wait very long for their orders to get to the table.  They ate for the most part in silence.  Every once and a while they would get into a small discussion about one thing or another.  They finished and waited for the waiter to return for the payment.

            He arrived shortly after to see if they needed anything else.  They replied that they didn't and asked for the check.  The waiter left once again and returned with some words scribbled on a small piece of parchment along with the total price.

            "How much is it?" questioned Chris.

            "About 2000 potch," returned Hugo.

            "How much did mine cost?"

            "Don't worry about it.  I'll pay," said Hugo.

            "Heh, nice try Hugo.  I'll pay for mine.  I don't want you to have to pay for me."

            "I insist.  Besides, I've got plenty of funds."

            "Fine, all right," she said and sighed in defeat.

            Hugo paid and left the tip.  The two then stood up and walked out of the restaurant area.  It was just now starting to get dark, and there was still plenty of time before either Chris or Hugo would be tired.

            "Would you like to race on horses?" asked Chris.

            Hugo thought about this for a moment.  The stable had a few Karayan horses.  "Sure.  Why not?"

            They headed to the racetrack and took out two horses.  Chris chose a dark colored horse that the Zexens used while Hugo took out a Karayan horse.  They went out onto the racetrack and stood by the starting line while mounted on their horses.

            "How many laps?" Hugo asked.

            "How about three," Chris replied.

            "All right.  On your marks, get set, go."

            They motioned their horses forward and began galloping around the track.  There weren't very many obstacles out right now, and both Hugo and Chris avoided them for the most part instead of jumping over them.  Chris ended up winning, but Hugo didn't care.  It wasn't as if it was a race of fierce competition or anything.

            Hugo and Chris spent the rest of their time just walking around the castle grounds without really saying or doing anything.  Hugo passed the lake and decided to sit down.  His legs hung over the edge of the ground and Chris did the same and sat right next to him.

            He looked up and saw the beauty of the heavens above.  The stars shown brightly and there was little light to hinder their view from earth.  The moon was out and was just waning from a recent full moon.  All Hugo could think about at that moment was Chris.  He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.  He also wanted to let her know, straight from him, how much he cared about her.

Hugo's mind was rather fried right at that point and time.  Perhaps this was why he suddenly decided to pour out his heart.  Perhaps it was just because he truly loved Chris and wanted her to know.  Whatever the reason was, that is what came out shortly afterwards.

            "Chris, can I talk to you about something?" he asked.

            "Sure," she responded.

            Hugo took a deep breath and let out a small sigh.  "Chris… I know that you were listening to me talk to myself about you the other night."

            It must have taken Chris a long time to process what he had said.  Hugo had spoken rather quickly after all and the sentence was confusing.

            "Wh-what?  You… knew?"

            "Not until the very end," he said.  "I heard footsteps walking away rather quickly.  I opened the door and looked down that hall and saw you.  You seemed to be rather… distressed."

            "But…"

            "I'm telling you this now because I want to let you know how I feel directly to your face.  I'm falling in love with you Chris Lightfellow,"        Hugo said slowly and clearly.

            Hugo's next action took place with almost blinding speed.  He moved his face right to Chris' and kissed her.  He was just about to pull away when, to his great surprise, she returned the kiss.  She moved closer and dragged the kiss out.  Chris then apparently realized what she was doing.  The Zexen Knight grabbed Hugo by the shoulders and literally pushed Hugo away.

            Hugo braced himself for the blow to his face that he saw in his near future, but it never came.  He looked up to find Chris staring at him.

            "What was that?" she asked slightly stunned.

            "Chris, you know what that was.  I have absolutely no idea how you feel towards me.  For all I know you might hate me right now.  Please, promise me that you'll think about accepting me as the person you want to be with, a person you may want to spend the rest of your life with.  I love you Chris, and if it would ever be possible for you to love me too, promise me you'll tell me.  But if you decide that you can't ever love me, I still want to be your friend."

            "I don't know—"

            "Promise me, Chris.  Promise me that you'll at least think about it," he said.

            The silence that occurred afterwards was perhaps the worst moment of his life.  What if she refused the promise?  What if she decided right then and there that she could never love him?  Would she look for an excuse to get out of this situation?  If she did promise, would she keep it?  Hugo's mind was racing with questions.  The only one who could end his slight panic was Chris.  All he wanted from her now was her promise.  And then it finally came.

            "I promise," Chris said very quietly.  It was almost inaudible, but Hugo heard.  He smiled slightly.

            "Thank you Chris.  Pleasant dreams."  Hugo stood up and walked towards the inn leaving the poor girl… no woman, contemplating her thoughts in confusion.  He prayed that she would return to the inn and not simple fall asleep hanging over the edge of the lake.

            He dreamt of her, again.

*~~~*

            Chris' mind wasn't cooperating with her right now.  All of those questions she had been wondering about Hugo came back in an instant.  The strangest part was that she had found herself returning the kiss.  That proved that at least some part of her wanted to be with him.

            The Zexen captain was just too confused to think anything through straight.  She had promised Hugo that she would think about whether she could consider him a potential life mate.  She decided to try and save the thinking part until later.  She already had a very painful headed.

            Chris returned to the inn and entered her room.  She changed for the night, lay down on the bed, and did her best to fall asleep.  It took her a very long time, but when she did, she dreamt of him.

*~~~*

            There we go.  End of chapter three.  Thank you again for all of the feedback.  Remember to review.  I will hopefully be able to get the next chapter out by next week.  I'm sorry if a few of the characters are OOC, but I think they have to be somewhat to make the story work properly.  Like I said, the main plot will start picking up in the next chapter.  Now that everything is out in the open (for the most part), how will their relationship progress?  I guess you'll just have to wait and see.  I hope the suspense is killing you.  Once again, remember to review.  Happy Writing.

~Dreams are merely occurrences and fantasies that will probably never take place or exist.  Remember that while the chance is slim, it is there.~


	4. Anymore Clueless

Disclaimer:  I still don't own Suikoden, which is good because I'd suck at making video games.

Author Notes:  Hey.   Thanks for the feedback.  I'm going to try to shorten my author notes from now on.  That'll let you get right to the story.  Unfortunately, it appears as if the main plot won't be starting till the next chapter.  I really wanted it to start today, but I just had to get some Chris/Hugo goodness.  I hope that you won't mind too much.  Heh, I think you'll survive.  Okay, well… anyways… let the chapter begin.

Dreams and Nightmares 

**Chapter IV**

**Anymore Clueless**

**By: Luke 'Deathplight'**

         Chris yawned and stretched as she sat up in bed.  She had been dreaming about Hugo.  The part that scared her most was that it was the most pleasant dream she could ever remember having.  Then Chris remembered what had happened the before her dream.  That was reality.  Hugo had confessed his love for her directly to her.  Any part of her body that had still felt sleepy immediately awoke.  The meaning of it all was so confusing.  She also realized that the headed she had had when she went to sleep last night had not disappeared completely.  Perhaps she just needed fresh air.  Yes, that was it.

         Chris got out of bed, cleaned up, and changed.  She then walked out of the inn and outside onto the cold earth.  It was still early even though the sun was already up.  Most of the residents were still happily asleep in her beds.  Chris walked the grounds and tried to collect all of the thoughts together.  What she had gathered so far was that last night Hugo had told Chris he loved her.  He also kissed her, and Chris returned the kiss.  He then somehow forced a promise out of her that she would consider if she could ever fall in love with him.  Did Hugo have her on a string?  It was almost as if she was willing to do anything he wanted.  Chris shook her head.  Sorting out her thoughts _had _in fact helped her clear her headache.  Now all she had to do was try and figure out what she was going to do about what she had collected.

         The Zexen captain continued walking around the castle grounds when she saw him.  Hugo was sitting in almost the exact same spot he had been last night.  His legs were hanging over the edge of the ground and were just inches from the lake.  Chris froze and just stood there, looking at him.  Hugo never turned around, but he knew she was there.

         "Did you sleep well?" Hugo asked her.

         Chris was slightly startled that he knew she was there.  She then thought about the question.  She couldn't very well say, 'Yes, I had a great dream about you'.  Instead she settled for, "I slept okay."

         Hugo just looked at her for a moment.  Chris watched as his eyes seemed to study her face.  Suddenly, he broke out a huge smirk.

         "You had a dream about me, didn't you?" he accused.  Chris was at a loss of how he could have possible come to that correct conclusion.

         "Wh-what makes you say that?" she asked trying to make it sound as if he couldn't be any more wrong, but Chris knew that she was failing at that.

         Hugo's annoying little smile remained on his face as he returned, "It's written all over your face."

         "Well that just goes to show how much you know," replied Chris.

         "It's nothing to be ashamed of.  I dreamt about you last night, too."

         Chris nearly kicked herself for blushing at that comment in front of him.

         "I'm sorry, but I did not have a dream about you Hugo," Chris lied.

         Hugo's knowing smile just wouldn't erase itself from his face.  "I know you're lying, Chris."

         Chris just stood there for a moment.  That grin was driving her crazy.  "Stop smiling!" she finally yelled out.  Hugo didn't obey.

         "If you were telling the truth my smile wouldn't bother you.  Just admit it, Chris.  You had a dream about me.  I know you did, but it's not like I said it was probably the best dream you ever had."

         "You're way too arrogant for your own good," stated Chris, and she leered at him.

         "I'm sorry, but you just look so cute when you glare like that," commented Hugo.  Chris didn't reply.

         The two remained frozen in their seemingly assigned positions.  Neither of them spoke for a while.  Hugo then finally stood up and turned toward Chris.

         "I feel like going for a swim.  Care to join me?" he asked and smiled again.  Hugo then removed his shirt and took off his sandals.  Chris was slightly surprised at his muscular build.  He had looked rather scrawny when his shirt was on.  Hugo was, there was no other word for it, hot.  Chris then scolded herself inwardly for thinking such thoughts.

         "You just want to see me with only my undergarments on," she accused and gave a playful grin.

         "Wow, you catch on pretty quick," he retorted.  Chris was slightly taken aback before she realized that he was just kidding.

         "Fine, just for that I won't join you."

         "Please…" Hugo then put a look that was so pitiful and sad looking that it was hard for Chris to refuse.

         "Nope," she said sternly.

         Hugo sighed.  "You're no fun," he said.  Hugo then stopped smiling and just stared at Chris.  He took a step towards Chris, and she instinctively stepped backwards.  Hugo gave a questioning look and stepped forward again only to get the same reaction from Chris.

         "Are you… afraid of me?" Hugo asked.

         "Oh course not," said Chris.  The idea was rather absurd.  Hugo then took another step forward.  Chris took another step back.

         "Then why do you keep stepping back?" he questioned.

         Chris didn't answer because she didn't know what to say.  She had no idea why she kept stepping back.

         "Does the idea of you ever falling in love with me repulse you that much?" Hugo asked.

         "No…" said Chris.

         "Please tell me that the reason you don't want to try caring about me is because your image would be destroyed if you ever married a 'barbarian'."

         "I never said I didn't want to try caring for you," said Chris firmly.  "Besides, I seriously doubt that me getting married to the Flame Champion would hurt my image, not that I care about my image, though."

         Hugo seemed to brighten up a little bit.  "Well, just remember that you promised to think about whether or not you could love me.  I wish you knew what I was feeling for you right now."

         Hugo smiled once again and turned back to the water.  He dove in and just swam around for a while.  Chris simply watched.

*~~~*

         Thomas and Cecile were watching Hugo and Chris from a window in the castle.  There was a pretty lengthy distance between the castle and the part of the lake that the two were at, but Thomas and Cecile were able to see enough to get the just of what was going on.

         "Could those two be anymore clueless?" Cecile asked Thomas.

         "I don't think they're clueless at all.  They just know that they have responsibilities and duties that they cannot just forget about in order to be with each other," Thomas returned.

         "It's kind of strange that us of all people are talking about somebody else being clueless about their feelings," commented Cecile.

         Thomas chuckled a little.  "I love you, Cecile."

         "I love you, too."

*~~~*

         Hugo pulled himself out of the lake and up onto the ground.  It had been a very refreshing swim.  Chris was still there.  Hugo thought it odd that she had been watching him the whole time.  He picked up his things and sat down next to Chris.  She was sitting on the edge of the lake with her legs hanging down, almost touching the water.  Hugo was relieved to find that she hadn't gotten up and walked away when he got closer.

         "I guess I should have gotten a towel," Hugo commented.  Chris nodded in response.  Hugo was very glad that Chris seemed to approve of his bare upper body.  She kept looking at him when she thought he wasn't looking.  Hugo had received enough compliments from the girls in his village to know that he was at least somewhat attractive looking.

         "So, did you enjoy watching me swim?" he asked.

         "It was okay," she said quietly in return.

         "I guess that means that you didn't realize that you were smiling the whole time?" he asked and raised an eyebrow.  Hugo smiled at the cute little blush that spread across her face.

         "You're really quiet," he said.

         She nodded.

         "Chris, I hope that things don't change between us too much.  Maybe I shouldn't have told you that I was in love with you, but I just couldn't sit well with all that on my chest.  I'm sorry if I gave my burden to you, but I needed to know."

         "I'm… glad you told me," Chris said.  "At least now I know in case I ever _do_ fall in love with you, too."

         "I see."

         Hugo had dried enough that he could put his shirt and sandals back on.  His pants were still slightly soaked, but he could live with it.

They sat in silence when Hugo decided to throw another question up into the air.

         "Chris?"

         "Yeah?"

         "Do you think I'm handsome?" he asked.

         "Well… um…"

         "This is going to turn into another one of those discussions like whether or not you dreamed about me, isn't it?" he asked.

         "Yeah, probably," replied Chris.

         "I'm going to win this argument, too, aren't I?"

         "Whoever said you won the other one!" she exclaimed.

         "Well, I think it was pretty clear."

         "What do you mean!"

         "Well… you kind of just stopped arguing with me and gave up," returned Hugo.

         "Argh… you…"

         Hugo smiled and laughed.  "And I already told you that you're really cute when you glare at me like that."

         "Would you _please_ cut it out!"

         "Hey, don't make me kiss you again.  You'll kiss back just like last night," said Hugo and raised an eyebrow.

         Chris stammered something inaudible.

         "We both know that you kissed me back.  We also both know that at least a _little_, possibly unconscious part of you wants to be with me.  There's no use denying it."

         Chris must have known that she lost this argument.  She said little else in her defense.

         "Hugo, you are too immature," said Chris very seriously.  This stung Hugo, whether or not Chris had intended to you.

         "So… you think of me just as a kid?" he asked sadly.

         "I didn't say that," stated Chris.

         "But that's what you meant isn't it?  Now are you actually trying to find excuses for not being with me?  Don't you dare say that you can't love me just because you're older than me.  We're both immortal."  Hugo then stood up and started to walk away.

         "Hugo, I'm sorry," she said to his back and stood up herself.  Hugo stopped and turned around to face her.  Chris walked over to Hugo and just looked at him for a moment.  Then she hugged him.  Hugo returned the embrace.

         "I am sorry.  I don't know why I said something like that.  One of the things that I like about you is that you can joke around a lot."  Chris pulled away from Hugo.  That action made Hugo sigh.  No matter how hard he tried he found himself unable to stay angry with Chris for any period of time.

         "It's okay.  I know you didn't mean it."

         Chris smiled at him.  "I'm hungry, let's get something to eat."

*~~~*

         Fortunately, the restaurant operated differently during the day.  They ordered their food, and once it was ready they just took it and left.  Hugo and Chris decided to eat in a room inside the ship.  Hugo wasn't sure what Chris thought, but he personally thought that the ship was the best part of the castle area.  There were rooms everywhere that could be explored.  The bath was still there, but somebody else operated it now.

         After they had finished they just roamed around the ship.  After they got bored with that they walked through the castle.  There were definitely noticeable changes.  The castle didn't seem quite as dumpy and dilapidated as it had before.  Apparently many people must have worked to try and clean it up.  There were new paintings on the walls, too.  Once they got bored with roaming the castle, Hugo suggested a new idea.

         "Would you like to go visit Iksay?" Hugo asked.  Iksay wasn't very far from Budehuc and would probably only take about a fifteen-minute walk.

         Chris nodded.  "Sure."

         Fubar hadn't returned so it was only Chris and Hugo on their walk.  It was a quiet little stroll and they reached the village rather quickly.  The town had been fixed for the most part and most of the damages were no longer present.  They walked around the town and headed in and out of a few of the shops.  The villagers here were very friendly and many of them offered greetings.  Nobody recognized Hugo or Chris, and neither of them could really complain about that.  They walked through the main path and headed up to the main windmill.  It had also been repaired.  It seemed that the farming season was doing rather well.  There were rows upon rows of crops all through the large field.

         Chris sat down on a bench and Hugo followed suit.  The sun was high in the sky now and was shining down.  There were very few clouds in sight.  The temperature was warm, but it wasn't unbearable.  It was a very beautiful day today.

         "I like this place.  It's very peaceful," commented Chris.

         "I like it too," replied Hugo.

         "What are you thinking right now?" asked Chris.  It had been the second time that she asked that question since their trip together.  This time, however, Hugo would answer it.

         "I was thinking that I love you and that I wish you would return those feelings," said Hugo.  "How about you?"

         "I was thinking about whether or not I could love you in a matter of time.  I think that I might eventually, but I don't know if I love you now or not."

         "Thank you for considering it."

         "You don't have to thank me.  I would think about it even if I hadn't promised I would.  Everything is just so confusing, lately," said Chris.

         "It's not as if we're short on time or anything.  Don't drive yourself insane thinking about it," returned Hugo.

         Chris smiled at that comment.  "Hopefully neither of us will die in battle, though."

         "Don't be so pessimistic.  If either of us ever gets hurt you could just use your Water Rune.  If you're not there to save me, I'll just use my wind."

         "Fortunately, you're so optimistic," replied Chris.

         Hugo turned to look at Chris.  She was so incredibly beautiful.

         "You know, I don't think that kissing you last night was such a great idea," said Hugo.

         "Oh?" she asked.

         "Ever since then I've been wanting to kiss you again and it's pissing me off because I can't."

         Chris chuckled a little.  "Do you know that saying, 'good things come to those who wait'?" questioned Chris.

         "Yeah."

         "Well in this case it's, 'good things _might_ come to those who wait'."

         Hugo laughed a little.  "You're going to drive me insane someday Chris."

         They sat in silence for a while when Hugo suddenly, out of the blue, said, "I love you, Chris."

         "Argh, it annoys me when you say that," she stated.

         "Why's that?"

         "Because when somebody says 'I love you', the other person is supposed to say 'I love you, too', and I can't do that," she answered.

         "Nobody ever said you couldn't tell me that you love me.  It would all be so much easier if you would just give in to your feelings," said Hugo with a smirk.

         "Oh?  And what feelings would you be referring to?"

         "The feelings that keep telling you that you want me," Hugo replied.

         "I'm very sorry to inform you that I have never heard the voices of those feelings."

         "Yeah, I bet.  So when you agreed to dance with me to the song of the wind spirits, or you lean into me when we're riding on Fubar, or when you sighed sadly when I realized I was holding you and let go, or when you kissed me back, or when you kept looking at me without my shirt off when you thought I wasn't looking, or when—"

         "Okay, okay!  I get the idea," said Chris.

         "Oh, so you do admit that you want me," responded Hugo with a sly little grin.

         "I never said that," stated Chris in her defense.

         Hugo chuckled a little.  "You know, I think that we were meant to be together."

         "Do you now?"

         "Yep, and don't try to convince me otherwise," Hugo said firmly.

         "I won't," Chris replied.

         "So does that mean that you agree?"

         "I never said that either."

         Hugo sighed.  "I just can't win with you, Chris."

         "I'm sorry."

         Both Hugo and Chris started laughing for no apparent reason.  Once they quieted down Hugo had to ask a question.

         "Do you think we'd make a good couple?" he asked.

         "I don't know.  Why?"

         "Because both Cecile and Thomas thought that we were together.  I just thought that it was kind of odd."

         "Do _you_ think that we'd make a good couple?" questioned Chris.

         "You know what my answer is.  I think that it's evident we would based on other people's reactions.  Of course, my opinion is slightly influenced by the fact that I'm in love with you."

         "I wish that you'd stop saying that," said Chris.

         "Why?"

         "I don't want you to give me your heart if I'm not sure I can give you mine."

         "Chris, I don't choose who holds my heart.  It just ended up that it was you.  The same thing goes for you.  You cannot make yourself love me.  All I'm asking is that if you find that you do love me, tell me and let us share our lives together," returned Hugo.

         "It's weird how you can be joking around one minute and very serious the next.  I think I like that about you.  It's nice to find a person that's not too serious but doesn't joke around at every second."

         Hugo raised an eyebrow.  "Really, now?  I'll have to remember that."

         He looked into her eyes for a moment.  Hugo then moved forward and gave her a quick, tender kiss on the lips.  It ended so quickly that it could hardly even be described as a kiss, but it was none-the-less.

         "I'm sorry," Hugo apologized for kissing her.

         "It's okay.  That was kind of nice."

         Hugo smiled at her.  "Do you want to head back to Budehuc, now?"

         "Sure," she replied.

*~~~*

         The sun had just finished setting and Hugo was lying on his back looking up at the stars.  He wasn't sure where Chris had gone.  She had said that she was going to go do something, but Hugo wasn't really paying attention to what she said.  The only thing he cared about was that it didn't involve him and her being together so he kind of tuned everything out.

         Hugo wondered if the stars had spirits, too.  Perhaps if somebody was able to get near them they could be heard.  While Hugo's mind was on the subject of the spirits he decided to focus himself and truly listen to them.  He always heard them, but he didn't carefully attempt to hear the complicated songs and rhythms at all times.

         The water came to his mind first.  The water was the rune that Chris had.  It had recently become his favorite spirit because the spirits of her rune seemed to help show and reveal her beauty and elegance.  Since the True Runes chose their bearers, her True Water had made a sort of connection with Chris as the True Fire had with Hugo.  The water always reminded Hugo of Chris.

         "How's it going?" came the owner of the voice that Hugo had just been thinking about.

         "Pretty good.  How about you?" Hugo returned.

         "Okay."

         "I missed you," Hugo said.

         "I missed you, too."

         Hugo was slightly surprised at that comment.  "Really?"

         "Yeah."  Chris lay down on the ground near Hugo and looked up into the blue-black sea.  "It's really pretty, huh?"

         "Yeah," Hugo said.  "You know, I was listening to the water before you just showed up.  I can here it really well because of the lake.  The water spirits remind me of you."

         "Is it because of my Rune?"

         "Yes."

         "I can clearly hear the water spirits now, not just my Rune.  I think I can also hear the wind spirits okay now too.  For some reason, I can hear the fire spirits of your Rune really well, too."

         "You can probably hear the fire because you've have been spending a decent amount of time with me lately, and you're becoming accustomed to it," said Hugo.

         "I see."

         "Do you remember the first time I showed you how to listen to the wind spirits?  That was only a few days ago, but it seems like such a long time ago."

         Chris chuckled a little.  "Yes, I remember."

         "Thinking back I can probably guess why Louis drew some conclusions."

         "It must have looked really suspicious, I guess."

         "I wonder what would have happened if he hadn't walk in…" Hugo thought aloud.

         "Hugo, I can't believe you would think about something like that."

         Hugo laughed a little.  "I don't think anything would have happened.  Your teachings and sense of integrity would have seen to that."

         "Yeah, probably."

         Hugo sat up in his position and looked out to the horizon.  The lake went on for a very long time before land could be seen and even that was very difficult to make out.  The shimmering water reflected the star studded sky and little ripples could be seen from the life that made it's home in the seemingly never ended depth of the water.  The water's reflection slightly blurred the light of the stars, but it was still visible.  Hugo then looked up at the forever reaching sky that's reflection could be seen in the clear body of water.  It was truly a beautiful sight.  The moon aided to the visual glamour of the night's sky and added a bit of light down onto the land.  For some reason, however, all of the visual beauty of the world in his mind couldn't match the beauty of Chris, both in her appearance and on the person she was inside.  Hugo shook his head and turned to look at the object of his thoughts and affections.  She was sitting up also and looking at Hugo.  She must have been wondering what was going on inside his head.

         Hugo placed his left hand on top of Chris' right.  She had been using that hand as a support on the ground.  He then turned to get a better look at her.  The light of the stars and moon was visible in the reflection of her eyes and only added to her beauty.  He placed his right hand on her cheek and just looked at her for a moment.  Hugo was just about to kiss her when he stopped himself and pulled away.  He removed both of his hands and slid slightly away from her.

         "What's wrong?" she asked him.

         "I was about to kiss you," Hugo admitted.

         "Oh."  Hugo couldn't help but notice the fact that her last word had seemed rather sad sounding.

         "Are you… disappointed that I didn't?" he asked her.

         "I… don't know.  I don't really understand much of anything anymore.  It's just to hard to digest all of this."

         Hugo nodded.  "I understand.  Would you have minded if I kissed you?" Hugo asked outright.

         "I'm not sure," said Chris.  "I very much doubt it."

         "I see," responded Hugo.  He sighed to himself.  "Well, I guess I'm going to get to sleep.  Pleasant dreams.  You'll be in mine."

         "I think I'll retire for the night, too.  I hope that you'll remember your dreams fondly," replied Chris.

         "Don't worry.  They will be."

*~~~*

         Hugo and Chris spent the next two days visiting with all of their old friends that still lived at the castle.  Fubar had returned the next day during the late afternoon.  Nothing of much interest had happened, but Chris and Hugo talked every night that they were at Budehuc Castle.  It became sort of a ritual.  It had finally come time for the morning that they would leave Budehuc.  They said goodbye to all of their friends, and Fubar, Hugo, and Chris left the castle area.

         "So, what's the plan?" asked Chris.

         "I guess we'll fly to Vinay on Fubar and spend the night there tonight.  Then we could ride to Brass Castle tomorrow morning.  If that's okay with you of course," replied Hugo.

         "It sounds like a plan."

         "Shall we get started?" questioned Hugo.

         "Yep," responded Chris.

         Hugo pulled himself up onto Fubar's back.  He then picked up Chris and set her in a position in front of him.  Fubar took off with Hugo and Chris sitting on top of him.

         Chris had leaned back into Hugo once again.  Hugo figured it must have just been a reflex.  She probably wasn't very confident with her ability to stay on Fubar and keep from falling off in the air.  That same urge to wrap his arms around her forced itself into Hugo's mind.  This time, however, he did not fight it.

         Hugo entwined his arms around Chris and she seemed to sit back even more into him.

After they flew away Hugo commented, "I think this is one of the only times I've really seen you relax."

"Hmm?" asked Chris.

Hugo laughed a little bit.  "I said that this is one of the only times I've seen you relax.  You're so relaxed you're almost asleep."

"Sorry," said Chris.

"You don't need to be sorry.  I like seeing you settle down a little bit"

Hugo and Chris didn't say much else for the duration of the flight.  He simply held his arms around her and was glad that she didn't seem to mind at all.  He smiled to himself when her breathing slowed, and he knew that she had fallen asleep.

*~~~*

         Chris slowly tried to open her eyes.  They felt as heavy as lead.  She must have fallen asleep after all.  Chris had no intentions of falling back to sleep so she forced her eyes to open.  She found herself looking up at Hugo.

         "Hey, you're finally awake," he said.

         "Why didn't you wake me up when I fell asleep?" she asked him.

         "Because you looked so peaceful and beautiful."

         Chris smiled inwardly.  Hugo definitely complimented her more than anybody else she had ever met.  She also noticed that the position she was in was different that it should have been and the sky rather dark.

         She looked around, and the first thing that she noticed was that they were in the Zexen forest.  That explained why it was so much darker than it should have been.  Now what she wanted to know was why she was almost laying down and why the first thing she noticed when she opened her eyes was Hugo.

         Chris slowly began to realize her position.  Hugo was cradling her to his chest.  His right arm was behind her back while his left was underneath the joint of her knee.  Hugo was lifting her up, but him holding her like that was helping her keep her balance in that position.  She shouldn't have been in that position in the first place, however.  Chris didn't really mind it, though.  The Zexen captain was too lazy to get herself into a different position or at least that's what she told herself.  Instead she just rested her head against his chest.

         Chris, Hugo, and Fubar had finally made there way towards the end of the forest.  It was still light outside, and there was a sort of light that guided them as they walked the paths of the forest.  They emerged from the forest and walked along the road until they reached the entrance to Vinay.

         "Do you think it would be a good idea if we got off Fubar and I set you down?  It probably wouldn't look very good to walk in like this," said Hugo.

         "I guess," responded Chris.  Hugo set Chris down off of Fubar, and then he dismounted.

         "Well Fubar," Hugo began.  "You can either fly wherever you want and be here in the morning or you can stay in the stables with the other horses."

         Fubar opted to fly wherever he wanted.  Once the griffon had left, Hugo turned back to Chris.

         "Did you like the trip over?" he asked her.

         Chris thought about this.  She didn't really know how to answer this question.  She admitted to herself that it was nice to wake up to Hugo cradling her like that, but Chris didn't think she'd ever be able to tell him that.

         "I don't really know.  I was asleep most of the time," she finally decided for an answer.

         "Well, I'll take that as a 'yes'.  It's pretty amazing that you were so relaxed you fell asleep."

         Chris smiled a little.  "It was probably just because I don't usually get much sleep."

         "Yeah, that and the fact that you felt so secure and calm in my arms," said Hugo jokingly.

         Chris didn't respond to that.  It was true.  She felt that there was no use lying about it.  He would be able to tell if she lied anyway.  Instead, she nodded slightly.

         That response had definitely caught Hugo by surprise.  He sort of did a double take and had an odd expression on his face.

         "R-really?" he asked.

         Chris nodded again.  Chris heard Hugo sighed.

         "Do you realize that you saying stuff like that is only making me fall in love with you more?" he questioned.

         Chris didn't respond to this.  Instead she simply said, "Come on.  Let's go inside."  She walked through the entrance and into the busy city and Hugo followed behind.

         The streets of the city were very crowded just as Chris had predicted.  The only time it was any different was when everybody in the town was asleep and those occasions were on the rare side.

         "So would you like to wander the streets aimlessly and check out a few shops?" asked Chris.

         Hugo shrugged.  "I guess so," he replied.  "There's not much else to do."

         Chris nodded and they walked the streets.  They would enter in any of the shops that seemed interesting and spent most of their time in the bazaar.  They tried to stay away from most of those annoying people that would look for excuses to talk to Chris.  Fortunately, Hugo wasn't lagging back and the fact that he was Karayan seemed to put a few of those people off.  There were still people that would walk buy and say something to Chris, but those were ones that they did their best to ignore.

         Once it got dark Chris and Hugo had gone to her house.  Chris watched as Hugo decided to sit one of the benches outside of the building and Chris joined him by sitting down next to him.

         "The stars aren't quite as bright out here," Hugo commented.

         "Yeah, the lights from the buildings get in the way."

         "I don't know if I would be able to live here.  I must admit, though, that if living here was the only way to be with you I would definitely try."

         Chris smiled a slightly at that station.  She definitely believed that he loved her.  The only question now was 'did she love him'?  The Zexen really hoped that she would figure it all out soon.

         Chris leaned against Hugo and closed her eyes.  She felt so calm that she couldn't help, but drift into a deep sleep.

*~~~*

         Hugo smiled at the sleeping woman next to him.  She was perfect in every way.  He had been sitting there watching her sleep for a long time.  Now he was becoming tired and decided he needed to get to sleep also.

         Hugo picked up Chris and gently cradled her.  He entered the house, and apparently the butler had already gone to sleep because he was nowhere to be seen.  He walked up the stairs to her room and set her down gently on top of the bed.  He pulled the covers over her body and set her bag down on a chair.  Hugo then sat down on the edge of the bed and just looked at her for a moment.

         "Chris, I love you.  I pray that someday soon you'll realize that you love me, too," he said quietly to her sleeping form.

         Chris then mumbled out his name almost inaudibly in her sleep.

         Hugo smiled to himself.  'She's dreaming about me,' he thought.

         "Good night, Chris," he said.  Hugo then headed to the guestroom that he had occupied the last night he was here, set his things down, and changed for bed.  Someday he and Chris would be together.  He could almost guarantee it.

*~~~*

         Mwahaha!  The end of chapter 4.  Again, I'm sorry that I couldn't start the plot yet but fluff is good when the proper dosage is used.  Hopefully you didn't try to ingest this entire story at once.  That could give you serious indigestion.  I won't promise that the plot will start by next chapter because I don't want to lie about promises.  I can almost one hundred percent assure you that it will start by the next chapter, however.  I hope I can get it out soon.


	5. The Dream

Disclaimer:  I still don't own Suikoden.

Author Notes:  First, I would like to give you my sincerest apologies on the length of time it took to get this chapter out.  I'm afraid to say that I got hooked on another video game, Dark Cloud 2, and was using all of my spare time to play it.  After that I wasn't really sure where I wanted to go with the story, wrote this chapter, and then rewrote it.  Once again, I'm sorry.  Second, the actual notes:  Here we go.  It's the big number five.  I've never been this dedicated to anything that I've ever tried to write.  So I'm really hoping I'll have the main plot out by the end of this chapter anyways.  It'll probably be a few thousand words until I get there so I'm afraid to say it will probably end in a cliffhanger.  Also, there's more Hugo/Chris goodness on the way.  Hopefully you won't die of warm fluffiness.  Hopefully I won't die of it while I'm writing.  That would probably build up suspense while you all get mad that I didn't finish it.  By the way, **this is important.  When the second paragraph break occurs no time has passed at all.  I simple used it to switch what side of the story it is being told from.  I'll leave a note there.  **Well, let the chapter begin.

Dreams and Nightmares Chapter V 

**The Dream**

**By: Luke 'Deathplight'**

         The first thing that Chris noticed as she lay in bed was that she was on a soft bed.  She could not remember ever even coming inside that house last night.  She should have been asleep outside on the bench.  Chris realized she must have fallen asleep while outside, and Hugo brought her in.

         "Mmm… Hugo?"  Chris had no idea why that came out.  She was glad that Hugo wouldn't have been able to hear it.  Then Chris' hope came crashing down.

         "Wow, you're finally awake," came his voice.  Hugo should not have been in her room.  Chris' reply came out a little more annoyed sounding that it should have.

         "What the hell are you doing in my room?" she asked.

         Hugo chuckled a little.  "First you call out my name, and then you complain when I reply.  I just can't win with you?"

         "Well just tell me why you were in my room watching me sleep."

         "Jeeze, how about some gratitude.  If it weren't for me you'd still be outside on that bench.  I brought you up here after you fell asleep and went to a guest room.  You were taking forever to wake up so I came in and waited," replied Hugo.

         "Sorry.  I guess I'm a little grumpy when I first wake up," apologized Chris.

         "It's okay.  If eventually everything turns out like I want I guess I'll have to get used to it," said Hugo

         Chris couldn't help but laugh at that.  She was surprised that she didn't really mind his joking arrogance.  It was a welcome relief from all the seriousness she was forced to live with most of the time.

         Chris opened her eyes for the first time that morning and looked around just to assure herself of her surrounding environment.  This place was definitely her room.  Hugo was sitting down in a wooden chair that was off to the side and was looking at her.

         "By the way," Hugo began.  "Don't fall asleep someplace other than your bed again unless you're already dressed for bed.  It was really hard to get you changed into your pajamas without waking you."

         All the dreariness that Chris had felt suddenly vanished, and her eyes flew wide open.  She sat up straight and cried out, "You did what!"

         Hugo started to crack up laughing.  "You are so easy!" he exclaimed.

         Chris was confused and looked down to see that she was still wearing the clothes she had on last night.  "Don't do that!" she said to him.

         Hugo was still laughing.  "But it's fun.  Besides it woke you right up, didn't it?"

         Chris let a sigh of relief as she fell back down onto her pillow.  Hugo was going to drive her insane if he did anything like that again.

         "Please don't say something like that again.  You almost gave me a heart attack," stated Chris.

         "Oh come on.  You're so boring sometimes.  I can't believe I fell in love with a boring person.  I'll be the laughing stock of the entire village—"

         "Hugo, shut up," Chris told him.  She could just imagine the smile that spread across his face.

         "I love you, Chris," Hugo said with a content little sigh.  Half of Chris was warmed by how openly he displayed his affection.  The other side wished that he wouldn't because she didn't fell right about not being able to be sure about her own feelings for him.  If Hugo didn't drive Chris insane she would do it herself.

         Chris got out from under the covers and stood up.  She looked at Hugo and waited for him to leave.  He just sat there.

         "Are you going to watch me get changed?" she asked sarcastically.

         A sly grin appeared on his face.  "Can I?"

         "No."

         Hugo let out an incredibly fake sounding sigh.  "Then why did you ask me?"

         "I was being sarcastic."

         "I like sarcasm better when you don't use it to get my hopes up," Hugo said sadly.

         Chris sighed.  "What am I going to do with you, Hugo?"

         The same little smirk appeared on Hugo's face as he had before.  "Whatever you want."

         Chris' eyes opened wide.  "Hugo!  I swear you can be worse than Louis sometimes."

         "Shit, now I have competition?  It's getting harder and harder to try and get you to fall for me."

         "Hugo, please just go outside so I can get changed," Chris said to Hugo.

         "Are you sure I can't stay and watch?" asked Hugo innocently.

         "Yes, I'm sure," replied Chris calmly.

         Hugo let out another sigh.  "Someday you won't get embarrassed about something like that with me."

         "Yes, and maybe someday I'll fall in love with you, but that hasn't happened yet so get out of here."

         Hugo hung his head.  "Yes, ma'am."

         One of these days Hugo was going to push his luck too far.  But who knows?  Perhaps one day Chris would be able to openly and easily flirt back.

*~~~*

         Hugo waited outside of Chris' room and waited for her to emerge.  When she walked out in a particularly good-looking outfit Hugo had to do a double take.

         "You're really beautiful, you know that?" Hugo complimented.  He saw a small blush appear on her cheeks.

         "Thank you.  You have only told me that a few dozen times a day for the past four days," Chris replied.

         "Yes, and it's always been true for those few dozen times a day.  I'd really like to see you in a Karayan outfit though."

         "Would you now?"

         "Yep, a particularly revealing outfit…" Hugo said and trailed off.  As he thought about it an odd smile appeared on his face.

         "Hugo, are you okay?  You're face got all weird."

         "I'm fine," replied Hugo.  "I was just imagining you in a Karayan ensemble.  In that outfit you're fine, too, I might add."

         "Hugo…" said Chris.

         "Oh come on, Chris.  I can't help it.  It's not my fault that you're gorgeous."

         Another rose-colored blush appeared on Chris' face.

         "Do you have any idea how cute you look when you blush?" asked Hugo.

         "No I don't.  How cute do I look?" replied Chris.

         "Well I think I'd better not get into that or you might smack me," snickered Hugo.

         Then Hugo stopped laughing and just looked at Chris.  He stared deep into her eyes.  He felt that he could actually see through her pupils and straight into her soul.  Hugo stepped forward without realizing it.  He didn't seem to be in control of himself as he wrapped his arms around her.  The most interesting thing, however, was that Chris seemed to be as lost and out of control as he was right now.  Hugo leaned his head down and pulled Chris into a kiss.  She returned it without hesitation.

*~~~* (POV Change)

         "Lady Chris?" came the voice of the butler.  The moment was immediately over.  Chris quickly pulled away from the kiss and pushed Hugo away, hard.  She then tried to cover up what had happened.

         "I'm sorry.  I got here late last night.  You were already asleep and I didn't want to wake you," Chris said quickly.

         "No need to apologize milady.  I do, however, apologize if I… interrupted anything."

         "No, of course not," replied Chris.

         "Well, you can come down and get breakfast if you wish," said the butler.  "Will the Karayan be joining you?"

         The Karayan?  Chris had almost completely forgotten about Hugo.  She finally told the butler, "Yes, of course."

         "All right then.  You may come down when you wish to eat your breakfast."  With that the butler turned and headed down the hall.

         When Chris turned to look at Hugo she saw that he had an incredibly rejected look on his face.  He sighed sadly.  During her conversation with the butler he had leaned against the wall and slid down.  He was sitting with his knees in the air and his arms resting on top of them.

         "Hugo, I'm sorry," Chris tried to apologize.

         "It's not your fault," replied Hugo sadly.  "We shouldn't have been kissing in the first place.  And don't worry about forgetting about me while you were talking to the butler either."

         "Hugo…"

         "Chris, I told you.  It's okay.  You never pledged anything to me so I shouldn't expect anything.  I just wish…" and he trailed off.  Hugo stood up and headed off in the direction of his room.

         The guilt trip was horrible.  "I'm sorry, Hugo…" she said as he walked off slowly.

         Chris just wanted to fall over and die.  She felt like dirt.  She felt like crying.

*~~~*

         Hugo felt like crying.  He had been rejected faster than a rancid piece of meat.  He could never ever remember feeling so horrible in all of his life.  Chris probably didn't realize it, but she had pushed Hugo so hard he hit the wall.  While she was talking to the butler he had just wanted to melt into the surrounds and become invisible.  Instead all he had ended up doing was slumping to the floor.  He decided that he might as well forget about Chris.  Her actions today had proven that he had no chance with her.  Hugo didn't mind that she broke the kiss, but she did it so forcefully it seemed that in her mind she had just made the biggest mistake of her life.  Once he and Chris reached Brass Castle he would just keep heading towards Karaya.  He didn't mind if he had to travel at night.  The Karayan just wanted to be back home right now and forget everything that had happened on the trip.

         Hugo realized how pitiful that he must have looked.  Self pity or pity from anybody else wouldn't help his situation right now so he stood up and did his best to force his emotions down.  He never wanted Chris to seem him looking so weak ever again.

         Once Chris had remembered about Hugo she had said that he would be coming to breakfast.  He might as well do so now.  Hugo tried to get himself back together and adjusted his face to keep it from looking so pathetic.  He closed his eyes to remove the unshed tears that were in his eyes and walked out of the room.

         Hugo headed to the dining section of the large house and saw Chris slowly picking at her food with a fork.  There was a full plate set across from her and an empty chair in the spot.  He assumed that the plate was for him.

         He headed over to the chair, pulled it out, and sat down.  It must have taken Chris a while to realize that he was there because she did not acknowledge him until he was sitting down.

         "Hugo?" she asked unsurely.

         "Yeah?" Hugo replied.

         "I… um…" she tried to get out.

         "Don't worry about it Chris.  I'm sorry about how pathetic I must have looked," returned Hugo.

         "You have every right to hate me," she said.

         "But I don't."

         The rest of breakfast was eaten in silence.  Hugo would glance up once and a while to find Chris just looking at him.  He really must have looked pitiful earlier.  Hugo sighed to himself.

         After they had finished eating Hugo said, "I'm going to go to Brass Castle now.  Are you coming with?"

         "If you don't mind.  Just let me go get my things," Chris replied.  Hugo nodded and headed up to the guest room to get his own things.  He took considerably less time than Chris and waited for her by the front door of the building.

         Chris finally appeared and said, "Well, let's go."

         Hugo waited outside of the stable for Chris to get her horse.  They exited the city and found Fubar just outside of it.  He let out a soft "Kueee…" and walked over to Hugo.  Both Hugo and Chris mounted their steeds and headed into the forest.

*~~~*

         They were now in the middle of the plain and would be to Brass Castle shortly.  Chris the trip was very quiet.  Every once and a while Chris would hear Hugo let out a sad sigh.  She figured he must have been thinking about what had happened.  She definitely couldn't blame him after what she put him through.

         "Hugo?" ventured Chris' voice.  It sounded much more feeble than she had intended.

         "Hmm?" he replied.  Chris finally gave up on trying to talk to him, stopped the horse, and dismounted.

         "Hugo, stop and get off Fubar," Chris told him.  Hugo complied and walked over to Chris.

         "What is it?" his voice said quietly.

         "Your acting this way is really starting to get on my nerves.  Both of us know that it was because my butler interrupted the kiss and I practically flung you into the wall.  Then all I did was try to cover it up.  I'm sorry, but telling you that won't do any good.  We might as well just pretend that he never saw us kissing and pick up right where we left off."

         The surprise on Hugo's face was very evident as Chris wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss.  It was unlike anything Chris had ever felt before.  Her mind was blanking out and she forgot about everything else.  The kiss lasted for a very long time, and Chris didn't even bother to try and keep track of exactly how long.  Chris finally pulled away from the kiss and looked into Hugo's eyes.  Both of them were very out of breath.

         "Wow…" was all that either of them was able to get out for a while.

         "That was…" said Chris and trailed off.

         "Yeah…"

         Chris was finally able to get control of herself and said to Hugo, "Like I told you before, I'm still not sure if I'm in _love_ with you, but if every time that we kiss it's like that, the odds are definitely tipped in your favor."

         "Spirits, I love you, Chris," was how Hugo replied.

         "Does that mean you forgive me?" asked Chris hopefully.

         Hugo nodded.  "Of course I forgive you.  I would have forgiven you even if you hadn't kissed me like that, but I definitely liked that solution better.  Would you like to try that again?"

         "I think that we should get to Brass Castle.  If we kiss like that again today it'll be dark before we get back," Chris replied with a smile.

         "Chris, I think you're falling for me," commented Hugo.

         "Hugo, I think you're right," replied Chris.

         Hugo and Chris just looked at each other for a moment when Hugo questioned, "Really?"

         Chris nodded.  It wasn't a lie.  Almost all of her thoughts had been about him lately.  If that wasn't proof enough there was the fact that they had been sucking face for over a minute.

         Chris then turned and walked back towards her horse.  She was a little dizzy from a combination of things, which included the kiss and her lack of oxygen at the moment.  Chris shook her head to try and reorient herself.

         They both remounted and once again headed towards Brass Castle.

*~~~*

         Brass Castle was finally in sight.  During the rest of the trip Hugo just tried to comprehend what had happened.  One minute Chris was talking to him and the next…  She even told him that she thought she was falling for him.  After she said that Hugo knew that he wouldn't give up on her just yet.  It had definitely made up for what had happened earlier that day.  Just before they were about to enter the territory of Brass Castle Hugo remembered something.

         "Oh shit.  I just realized that the minute we get back there, your knights are going to kill me.  They must have already realized that we were traveling together for the past week.  We both left at almost the same time and Borus even saw me at the exit of the castle.  Nobody can be dense enough to not but an equation like that together," Hugo said.

         "I had forgotten about that, too.  But what's the worst that could happen?" asked Chris.

         "One or more could attack me, and I might be forced to kill them because they'd kill me other wise," replied Hugo.

         "What makes you so sure you'd even be able to kill them?"

         "Knights move too slowly.  You are the quickest and most skilled of the group, and I managed to hold my own against you for a very long time."

         Chris sighed.  "Please try not to hurt any of them if you can help it.  I'll try and calm them down if it ever gets that serious."

         "Don't worry.  I won't hurt any of them.  You will have to inform them that we are a couple though."

         Chris raised an eyebrow.  "Whoever said that we were a couple?"

         "Give me a break Chris.  I told you I'm in love with you, you said you were falling for me, and we kissed for about two minutes straight."

         Chris chuckled a little.  "That's one of the reasons that I like you so much."

         "Because we kissed for two minutes?"

         "No! Because you're straightforward, and you can always lighten the mood," responded Chris.

         "Oh, so are you saying that I'm a bad kisser?"

         "I never said that!  Quit putting words in my mouth," said Chris.

         Hugo smiled at Chris.  "You have no idea how fun it is to get you annoyed like that."

         "And you have no idea how fun it'll be when the next time you try to kiss me I don't kiss back," responded Chris.

         This shut Hugo up immediately.  He knew that it was an empty threat, but now was not the time to take chances.

         "Wow, that shut you up quick," commented Chris.

         "Please don't make threats like that.  I don't know if I would be able to take it," pouted Hugo.

         "Aw… poor baby," said Chris in a slightly mocking voice.

         "Shall we enter?" asked Hugo.

         "You bet," returned Chris.

         "Well, Fubar, you know the drill," said Hugo to the griffon.  With that Fubar let out a "kueee…" and flew off into the air after Hugo had dismounted.

         Chris dismounted from her horse.  They headed into the castle area and were greeted by the sounds and crowdedness of the people.  First Chris put her horse in one of the stables and they headed towards the center of the castle.  Upon entering the actual castle they were greeted by the friendly face of Louis.

         "Greetings milady.  I trust your trip went well?" he asked.

         "Yes.  It was a much needed break," replied Chris.

         "I see that Hugo accompanied you for at least part of your trip.  I am guessing that perhaps you listened to the _wind spirits_?"  The last part of the sentence had a major emphasis.

         Hugo realized what he had meant almost right away and began laughing.  Louis also laughed.  Even Chris chuckled a little.

         "That was something Lulu would have said," commented Hugo once his laughing had died down.  "You two really would have gotten along well."

         "So _did_ you?" questioned Louis again.

         "I really do not think that we should be discussing this," said Chris.

         Hugo answered the question for Louis, however.  "Um… I guess not.  I don't really know how to answer that question," replied Hugo as he scratched the back of his head.  "I guess it depends on your definition of 'happened'."

         "Hugo…" Chris said giving him a death look.

         Hugo smiled.  "Lighten up Chris.  I seriously doubt that Louis will assault you just because I kissed you."

         "Hugo!"

         "So… you did kiss," replied Louis with a little glint in his eye.

         "Yep," said Hugo with a grin.  "Several times."

         "Hugo!" shouted Chris once again.

         "What?" asked Hugo innocently and raised his hand in defense.

         "First of all, you don't need to be telling Louis.  Secondly, it wasn't several."

         "Well, it was more than a couple," responded Hugo

         "But it was less than several," replied Chris.

         "Why do you have to always ruin my fun?" questioned Hugo and fake-pouted.

         "Well," began Louis.  "You don't have to worry about me, but you might want to watch out for some of the others.  They've been really pissed, lately."

         "Speak of the devil," said Hugo as all of the other five except for Salome approached.  From a distance, they spotted Hugo, Chris, and Louis almost immediately.  It would be pointless to run away now.  "Well, it looks as if they've seen me already.  I guess it wouldn't do me any good to hide now."  Hugo sighed.  "Here, comes the hell."  He could be in for a long night.

         Percival was the first to speak.  "Hello, milady.  I trust you're trip went well."

         Roland was the next to speak.  "Welcome back, milady."

         Apparently the two calmer members of the group spoke first.

         "What the hell is the big idea?" asked Leo angrily at Hugo.

         "You little 'barbarian' scum," added Borus.

         Hugo could see that Chris was about to try and defend him, but he stepped in first.

         Hugo angrily took a step towards Borus, his hand ablaze.  "Do you have any idea how much I hate that word.  You call the Grasslanders 'barbarians' when that term should really belong to assholes like you.  The funniest thing is that most Zexens aren't like you.  The reason most Grasslanders hate Zexens so much is because most of the well-known ones _are _like you.  Borus, do yourself a favor and go to hell."

         With that Hugo walked away from the group and tried to keep his hand from setting the whole place on fire.

*~~~*

         "That asshole…" said Borus as Hugo walked away.

         "What the hell was all that about!" Chris demanded.  "What is wrong with you!"

         "But… mila—"

         "No 'buts', Borus.  That behavior of yours is very unlike you and is really starting to piss me off.  It is also _very_ unbecoming of a Knight of Zexen.  Hugo is exactly right about what he said.  The same goes to you, too, Leo."  Needless to say, Chris was _very_ pissed off.  She stormed off in the in the same direction Hugo had.

         As Chris walked away she heard Borus say to her.  "You're right, Lady Chris.  I'm sorry.  It won't happen again."  His voice sounded deeply ashamed, but right now, though, she was too angry to reply or care.  If her True Rune were fueled by anger the way that Hugo's was, hers would probably destroy the entire castle.

         Chris wasn't really in the mood to try and find Hugo right now.  He probably wasn't in a talking mood anyways.  Instead she just roamed around the castle.  Many people commented about her return and gave their greetings.  She wasn't in a good state of mind right now and decided just to head up to her room and have a warm bath.  Upon her way up there, she encountered a familiar face.  It was Hugo.

         "I'm sorry," Hugo said almost immediately.

         Chris looked at him with a confused expression.  "For what?"

"For what I said about your knight and Zexens," Hugo explained.

"You don't have to be sorry for that.  If you hadn't told him off I certainly would have.  As a matter of fact, I added a bit after you walked away.  And you're right about what you said about assholish Zexens, too."

Hugo sighed.  "Do you think these prejudices will ever go away?" he asked her.

"Maybe eventually," replied Chris.  "We'll probably get to see it if it happens."

"Yeah.  I guess we'll have to wait until then until people will accept 'us'," commented Hugo.

"What do you mean by '_us'_?" returned Chris.

Hugo chuckled a little.  "Apparently you haven't accepted it either.  Don't worry, though.  You'll realize we're supposed to be together if you're given time."

"You are the most egotistical, arrogant person I've ever met," said Chris jokingly.

"I'm not egotistical," replied Hugo completely seriously.  "I only state the truth.  We're going to be together Chris; even if it takes forever."

Chris sighed and shook her head.  She didn't think she would ever understand him.

*~~~*

         Hugo yawned at sat up in the bed.  He stretched his arms to the side and then scratched the back of his head.  The young Karayan knew immediately that he had overslept.  He could tell by the large curtain of light that was lighting up the entire room.  These Zexen beds were too comfortable for their own good.

         Hugo thought back to the events of the day before.  He sighed.  It didn't look like staying here in Brass Castle would be a good idea.  In all truth, he didn't even want to be in a crowded place like this.  His desire to stay near Chris, however, pushed any of those feelings aside.  The problem was that if any of Chris' knights decided to sneak into Hugo's room and kill him in his sleep that would keep him from Chris indefinitely.  This especially came into play because of Chris' Rune.  Unless she got killed in battle he could be waiting for her in the afterlife for forever.  That was definitely not something to look forward to.  Hugo briefly wondered what the knights would do if Hugo and Chris ever got married.  Hugo shook that thought to the side.  The chances of that happening in the near future were so unlikely it was completely unnecessary.  Thinking about marrying her might only get his hopes up.

         The Karayan decided that it would probably be in everyone's best interest if he left Brass Castle today.  Hugo sighed.  He would definitely miss Chris.  Coming on this little vacation was one of the best things and one of the worst things he'd ever done at the same time.  He got closer to Chris and realized he was in love with her, but that came at the cost of him having those feelings without being close to her for months or even years at a time.  Hugo shook his head once again.  It would almost surely be within the same month that he saw Chris again.  He wouldn't allow himself to separate her from him that much.  He was still going to miss her, however.

         Hugo walked out of the room and tried to find her to say goodbye.

*~~~*

         Chris was just about to head to the main part of Brass Castle when she heard footsteps from behind.

         "Chris?" she heard Hugo ask.  Chris turned around to greet him.

         "Oh, hello, Hugo.  What is it?" she responded.

         "I just needed to tell you that I've decided to leave earlier than I had planned.  I'm going to go within the hour."

         Chris was saddened much more than she should have been.  It felt like a knife had just been stabbed into her heart.  She felt rejected and alone and knew that she shouldn't have been.  It was the oddest experience she could ever remember in her entire life.

         "Oh… um… how come?" she asked and tried her best to hide what was going on in her mind right now.  She had a feeling, however, that she was failing at that task.

         "I think that your knights might try to kill me in my sleep.  They've made it real clear that they don't want me her.  I don't want to cause any trouble," he replied.

         "Oh…"

         "Chris… are you okay?" Hugo asked with a slightly worried tone.

         Chris nodded.  "Yes, I'm fine.  I'm just a little bit tired.  I didn't get much sleep last night."

         Chris could tell that Hugo didn't believe her but he said anyways, "Okay then…  Well I guess I'll see you around sometime.  Goodbye."

         "Bye…"

         Hugo walked back in the direction of his room in order to pack all of his belongings.  Chris sighed loudly.  Something was wrong with her.  For a moment she thought that she was going to have a breakdown right in front of Hugo.  She cursed silently and wondered why she was acting so strange and why she felt so crushed.  But she knew the answer.

         'I'm in love with him…' she admitted to herself silently.  'I've really fallen in love with Hugo.'

         She shook her head and did her best to clear all of her thoughts.  That didn't help her situation at all.  If anything shaking her head just gave her even more of a headache.  Chris had no idea when she was going to see Hugo again.  One thing was for sure, though.  She definitely needed to tell him before he left, just so he knew.  She might not see him again for another whole year.  Chris doubted that she could deal with carrying that weight on her chest for that long.

         Chris headed off the same way that Hugo had gone.  As she walked down the hall she wondered what she was going to say.  After coming up with a few lines that would never work she decided to just wing it.  She wasn't good with words anyway.  She approached the door that she knew he occupied and tentatively knocked on the door.  The sound was very quiet and Chris was slightly surprised that Hugo even heard it.

         "Who is it?" Hugo asked from behind the door.

         "It's me," Chris responded.  "Can I come in?"

         "Sure."  Chris watched as the door in front of her opened and she came face to face with Hugo.

After looking at her for a moment Hugo said, "Chris, are you sure you're okay?"

Chris shook her head.  "No, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Hugo stepped out of the way, and Chris entered the room.  Hugo then closed the door behind her.

"Do you need to sit down?" Hugo asked her.

Chris nodded.  "Thank you."  Chris sat down in a chair and Hugo sat down in one across from her and waited for her to speak.

"I guess… the reason I wanted to talk to you is…"  Chris tried to get out.  She stopped and then started over.  "Hugo, when you told me that you were leaving, I was crushed and at first I was sure why.  But I know now.  What I'm trying to say is… I love you."

Chris had never been sure how Hugo would react, but she hadn't expected what she saw.  Hugo just sort of froze.  He sat there with a disbelieving look on his face.  Chris waited for him to do something when she realized that he was shocked beyond words.  Chris decided to take matters into her own hands.

Chris got up from the chair, walked over to Hugo, and sat down in his lap.  His eyes had been watching her the whole time in a similar way a stalking tiger does to its pray.  His eyes, unlike the hunting beast's, were gentle, though.  His face showed an indescribable look of anticipation.

The Zexen captain looked into his eyes for moment before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a kiss.  Chris felt Hugo wrap his own arms around her waist and gladly return the kiss.  The kiss had an unbelievable amount of passion in it, and a very good amount of time passed before they broke the kiss.  Chris eased into his embrace and rested her head against his shoulder.  She also adjusted her arms in her position around him to increase the comfort level.  For the first time in over a week, Chris' head was clear of almost all conscious thought.  It seemed that letting out her emotions had allowed all of those unanswered questions an anxieties to make themselves absent.

Neither of them spoke for a while.  They were content to just be held in each other's arms.  After a while Hugo finally spoke.

"I wish I didn't have to leave," Hugo said with a sigh.

"Do you have to?" Chris asked.

"Yes… I really don't want to, but I think the problems caused with me staying any longer might ruin the entire vacation."

Chris knew he was right and sighed sadly.  "I'll miss you."

"I'm going to miss you, too.  I'll try and visit as soon as possible."

"Can we just stay like this for a little bit longer?" asked Chris.

Hugo smiled.  "Sure."

After a moment Hugo then added, "I love you Chris."

"I love you, too, Hugo."

Notes:  I am about ready to kill myself.  I can't believe that I didn't get the beginning of the main plot out yet.  Fortunately, I doubt that you'll mind with that cute little ending scene.  I promise that I will get out the main plot by the next chapter.  I will get it out even if it takes me a 10,000-word chapter.  Just to let you know, the story is going to change a little bit.  There will be more action and battles and all that good stuff.  To those of you who are cringing with fear right now, do now worry.  There will be no shortage of Chris/Hugo fluff.  Even in the middle of battle their love will burn strong… god that sounds so retarded it's not even funny…  Anyways, once again, I am sorry about the wait.  Remember to review.  Reviews make the world go 'round.  Okay, maybe not that drastic but there's no doubt that they help me write better.  Tips are always welcome.  Until the next chapter…


	6. Author Note

*Sigh*…

Well… this sucks.

I tried… but my heart's just not in this fic anymore.  I'm afraid that it is going to be on permanent hiatus.  I know you are all probably pissed off at me now.  I honestly am sorry.  I actually finished chapter 6 once.  I restarted it and was almost finished with that version when I realized I would be unable to finish this fic.  I feel that leaving it off after chapter 5 is best.  It at least gives _some_ sense of closure.  Once again I apologize.

Who knows?  Perhaps someday I'll be compelled to return to this fic.  Until then…  Goodbye to the Suikoden world.  It was great while it lasted.


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